


Son of Hades

by inabodycastofglass



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, CPTSD, Crossover, M/M, talk of abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-06
Updated: 2018-05-11
Packaged: 2018-05-31 16:34:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 78
Words: 52,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6477724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inabodycastofglass/pseuds/inabodycastofglass
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nico, son of Disney's Hades, starts his first year at Auridon Prep.</p><p>Update: I might be shutting down my account.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Orientation.

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Descendants Percy Jackson AU](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/187939) by Nevrarossi. 



Nico should have felt nervous for his first day at Auradon Prep. This is what he’d been waiting for, a chance to get away from his father and be his own person. But as he got shuffled into a small lecture hall with the rest of the freshman villain class, he just felt a whole lotta nothing.

He sat in a seat midway back in the centre with the least amount of people, his feet up on the back of the seat in front of him, doodle-writing something that didn’t matter.

He glanced up for a moment when a girl walked on stage, then went back to his notebook.

“Hello, freshman.”

He rolled his eyes.

“My name is Mallory. I am the daughter of Maleficent.”

His pen froze as voices filled the room, most a whisper, but not all.

“Many of you hate me, I know. You see me as the girl who ruined my mothers world domination plan. I won’t argue with the way you feel, I know there’s no point. And most of you will never see me again anyway. I come here very infrequently, spending most of my time at Auradon University. But I’m not here to talk about me.”

Nico tried to continue writing, but his mind had gone blank, focusing entirely on Mal.

“Most of you are here because you have to be. You don’t want to. Either your parents are making you, to give you a better life, or in hopes that your time here will give you an advantage over the ‘good guys’.”

The room went silent, and Mal paused to let that sink in.

They all knew her story, about how she and her friends had been sent here to steal the Fairy Godmother’s wand, and wound up converting to the side of good instead.

Her breath echoed before she continued. “But there are a few of you who are here because you want to be. Mostly to get off the Isle, experience something new. But one or two of you are here because you want to be good.”

Nico looked up then, and mall locked eyes with him for a moment before moving on, not drawing any attention to him.

“Don’t worry. Being good can be easier than you ever thought. You may already be good, you just never had the chance to realize it. But it can also be the most difficult thing you will ever do. Which is why we’re giving you a little, mandatory help.”

She motioned to a line of students behind her that Nico hadn’t noticed before.

“Each one of you will be assigned good buddy’ for your first year. They’re voluntary upperclassmen that will be rooming with you and helping you with anything you need.”

Several people grumbled.

“Of course, we know most of you won’t magically get along with your good buddy, and that, like not all villains are evil, not all good guys are really all that good.”

Most of the “good buddies” looked from awkward to ashamed, and Nico wondered what had happened that he’d never heard about. Not much news reached the Isle.

“So if there are any problems, please don’t hesitate to say something and you will be assigned a new buddy.”

Nico really didn’t like the idea of being assigned a “friend”.

“There is one more thing. As entirely unfair as it is, you are all being put on probation for your first year.”

Half the room burst out in complaints and protests.

Mal made a motion for them to quiet, and they did.

“This means no fights, no magic or other powers outside of designated classes and areas, and otherwise no rule breaking. It also means you will have to take a 'goodness class’, which is pass/fail.

"If you break any of these rules, you will get one warning and a detention. Another and you’ll be sent him.”

Several people muttered, already planning out how to get expelled.

“There is a week long grace period to allow for adjustment.”

Several people groaned, and a few, including Nico, gave quiet sighs of relief.

“If you fail the goodness class, you will be unable to return next year.”

Nico decided it would be his top priority.

“Now, when I call your name, raise your hand, and your buddy will go to you.”

Nico was the fourth person called.

He was assigned a boy named Will, supposedly randomly, who looked the exact opposite of him.

He walked down with a grin that held no reservation, who wore orange and yellow clothes with a sun on his shirt Nico recognized.

The son of Rapunzel. Mister life to go with mister death.


	2. Help.

“This is the gym, where a lot of the guys like to hang out. And across from it are the changing rooms. Down this hall are the math and science classrooms.” Will led Nico past them, naming each teacher that used each one, and Nico wondered how he knew them all as a sophomore. “And down this way are the English classes.”

He continued down the opposite hall, but Nico had paused to stare and wonder what kind of classes they offered.

“Nico?”

He jumped. Will had come back without him noticing. A stupid mistake, one that could get him killed.

“Are you interested in English? There are a few electives offered to Freshman I could sign you up for.”

Nico watched him. His smile was unassuming, but that didn’t mean he wanted to be Nico’s friend, or even around him. He was probably just there for some extra goody-two-shoes points, so the princess that he’ll inevitably save will be extra pretty.

“No.” He moved past Will, down the opposite hall, so they could get this tour over with already.

They were almost done when they ran into Mal talking with a senior girl.

“Hey Evie, Mal.” Will waved casually to them.

“Will.” Evie pulled him into a hug, then held him at arm's length. “I have something for you.”

Mal rolled her eyes and turned to Nico. “Can I speak to you?”

He felt cold. Had he already messed up? He hadn’t even done anything yet. Had he? “All right.”

“Walk with me. Evie, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

She started walking, her steps a quick paced strut.

Nico followed without looking at Will.

They were silent as they left the school, then the school grounds. They had walked about fifteen minutes, and Nico was beginning to wonder if he was being led into a trap when he saw the gates of Auradon U.

He stared at them as Mal slipped her ID through the scanner and opened them. She turned to him. “Are you coming?”

“Villain’s aren’t allowed in the University.”

“They are if they’re a guest of one of the students.” She waved her ID at him. “Now come on.”

She continued on, and Nico had to catch the gate before it swung shut and locked him out.

The campus was bustling with students, alive in a way that the high school wasn’t.

None of them even looked at the blue haired boy that was so obviously out of place.

"You’re lucky you got Will as a partner.“

"What?”

Mal continued into one of the dorm buildings. “He’s a good kid. He’ll help you move forward.”

“Mal.”

He looked up to see an attractive boy striding toward them, all confidence and smiles. He slipped a hand around Mal’s waist and kissed her. “How did your opening speech go?”

“About the same as last year. Ben, this is Nico.” She motioned in his direction. “Nico, this is my boyfriend, Ben.”

“Ben? As in King Ben?”

Nico caught the first bit of awkwardness in his eyes. “Yeah, but just Ben is fine.” He held out his hand for Nico to shake.

He did so.

“Are Jay and Carlos in their room?”

“Last I saw them.”

“All right. I’m going to introduce them to Nico. I’ll see you tonight.” She kissed him again.

“Good luck. It was good meeting you, Nico.” Ben gave him a smile and continued on his way.

“Let’s go.” Mal continued on, and Nico had to jog to keep up with her.

She stopped in front of a door and rapped three times before barging in.

“Privacy, Mal.”

Nico recognized Cruella Deville’s son right away by his hair and wiry frame. And yet, despite the fact that his mother was famous for trying to kill and wear puppies, he looked almost normal.

“You’re not naked, are you?” Mal removed her coat and tossed it on one of the beds.

“That’s not the point.”

“Whatever.” She put her hands on her hips and looked around. “Where’s Jay?”

“He went to get some snacks. Who’s your friend?”

Nico almost jumped at being acknowledged, when so far neither of them had even glanced his way.

“This is Nico, from the freshman class.”

“Oh, this year’s good boy.” Carlos climbed over the back of the couch to examine Nico, who took a step back.

He looked to Mal. “What does that mean?”

“It means you want to be good.”

Nico paled. “What?”

The door burst open and did jump, spinning to see a ridiculously good looking boy strut in with his arms full of chips and cookies. “Guess who got a phone number.”

Mal rolled her eyes and Carlos turned back to the TV.

“Hey, who’s this?”

“Nico, this is Jay.”

He recognized Jafar’s eyes. Their fathers had worked together on several occasions but the sons had never personally met.

“Nico.”

He looked back to Mal.

“Have a seat. There’s something I’d like to talk to you about.”

He stood where he was for a moment before Jay led him to a bed by his shoulders.

“As you can tell, you’re what’s called this years ‘good boy’. Every year has one. And we like to find them and offer them a little help.”

Nico’s mouth went dry. He just stared at her.

“Being good is hard when it’s the opposite of all you’ve ever known. We get that.”

“No one more than Mal.”

“Shut up, Carlos.”

He looked down.

Mal turned her attention back to Nico. “We’re going to give you a phone and an Ipad with our numbers in them, so you can come to us with anything you need.”

Carlos handed them to him, but he was almost numb to it.

“Evie will be your greatest help next to Will. Use her. And use him. You were lucky to get paired together.”

Nico wanted to say a bunch of things, to ask a bunch of questions.

“Why?”

“Will’s a goody-goodie. Takes after his mum.”

“Jay’s right. He’s one of the few people who signed up to help instead of just for the extra credit.” Mal walked to the window and yanked the curtains closed with a scowl. “Plus, he’s friends with villains kids. Evie, Annabeth, Clarisse. It’s a pretty rare trait to be that good.”

Nico stared at the floor, just in front of his feet. “So why are you helping me? Why not someone else?”

“Because you want this.”

His breath caught.

“Everyone else could take it or leave it, but you’re good at your core. And we want to see that good flourish.”

His jaw clicked as he tried to speak. “How could you tell.”

“It was in the look you gave me. It was desperate and terrified.”

They were silent, giving Nico time to process things.

He was one of the good ones. It made him both relieved and terrified. If the other villain kids found out, they could make his life hell. And he’d spent enough time there.

He wished Hazel were with him. This would be so much easier if he weren’t alone.

“Who was the good one in your year?” He looked up at them.

“Carlos.”

He raised his hand.

“It was hardest for me.” Mal sat on the bed across from him, crossing her legs, linking her fingers around her knee. “I could only do it because of Ben, because he showed me what love is.”

Nico scowled and turned away from her. He knew what love was. And he also knew it never lasted. It was fickle, painful. And no one ever loved you the way you loved them. Not when you were a villain.

Jay put an arm up, blocking Carlos, who moved toward Nico.

He looked back up to Mal. “Was there anything else?”

Mal pushed herself to her feet. “Not today. I’ll walk you back to the academy.”

“Later Nico.” Carlos waved to him.

Jay thrust a box of cookies at him. “Ask Evie to make you a batch. She makes the best snicker doodles.”

Wasn’t that a dog?

He ran to catch up to Mal, who’d already left the room.

The walk back was as silent as the walk there.

When they reached the gates, Mal put a hand on his shoulder.

He should have known that wasn’t everything.

“I meant it when I said we’re here if you need anything. Eventually you will need help. Everyone does. When you do, another villain’s kid might be easier to talk to him than a heroes. Give me a call when you do.”

She gave his shoulder a pat, then left.


	3. Mister Independent.

Two weeks into the school year, Nico was still refusing to ask for Will’s help. He knew Mal and the others had told him he could be trusted, but Nico couldn’t get past the idea of an assigned friend.

And he didn’t much care for talking to him either. Their conversations consisted mostly of Will asking him stupid questions, like “did you ever steal candy from a baby?”

“Who would actually do that? They you just had to deal with a screaming child and a ticked off parent.”

“Are you a fast talker, like your dad?”

“No.”

“Did you live in the underworld?”

“Yes.”

“Do you have any siblings.”

“No.” Not anymore.

“Are you a god?”

“No.”

“You know, I can help you with your homework. I’m a straight A student.”

This was where Nico would gather his stuff and go study in the library until it closed.

He was surprised at how boring good life was. Nothing ever seemed to happen. Even the evil kids were causing less trouble as the days went by. But that could have something to do with the fact that their first test in goodness class was coming up. And Nico was freaking.

He was surprised at how difficult it was. The situations were complex and he was frequently guessing wrong. “Trying too hard” was how Fairy God Mother described it.

Her advice was to encourage him to talk to Will.

But he was too embarrassed to ask.

Will was perfect. He tutored other kids; he was in the marching band; he said hello to everyone, hero and villain; and even remembered your pets names. The picture of good. He probably helped old ladies cross the street in his free time.

Nico didn’t even know what to do with a lost tiara.

But the night before, after freaking out for a week, he knew he needed to swallow his pride and just ask (since Mal and Evie had both said they couldn’t help).

He told himself it was better than failing and being sent back to his father.

But was it really?

Yes. Yes it was.

It was.

Really.

He took a breath and spun his chair to face Will, who was hunched over his own homework.

He could do this.

“Will?”

He looked  at Nico, appearing a bit dazed. When his eyes focused, he smiled. “What’s up?”

Nico held up his goodness book “Can you help me?”

Will grinned at him and scooted his chair across the room without getting up, which took forever. But he just leant over the book and walked Nico through everything, not making a big deal out of it.

The whole thing seemed almost easy with his help.


	4. The Tourney Game.

Nico and Will started hanging out after that, a little.

Nico followed Will to his band practice, and commented on how awful he was.

“I know.”

He saw him during gym from the window in algebra. And he saw him hurt himself.

When they saw each other in the halls, Will would excuse himself from whatever discussion he was having and jog over to say hi and walk him to his next class.

They even ate together.

Having someone else around was weird, but not entirely unpleasant.

A month into the year, Will invited him to the first tourney game of the year, to which he refused initially. But, after seeing how disappointed Will looked, he gave in, regretting it immediately.

It was apparently a very big deal, and the entire school was going.

And Evie was making them outfits.

Goody.

Nico was immediately overwhelmed by the crowd and the noise. Will took his hand and he calmed, which gave him an entirely different kind of anxiety.

Somehow he managed to get into the game, figuring out the rules as it went on.

Until the lineup changed at halftime, and a black haired son of Ursula went onto the field.

Nico’s breath caught as he watched him line up.

“That’s Percy, the team captain.”

Nico hadn’t known Percy was on the team. If he had, he wouldn’t have come, no matter the face Will gave him.

But he had, so his eyes trailed him the entire second half, and into overtime. The contact was only broken when the crowd stood to cheer for their win, Nico staying on the bench.

When they sat, Annabeth was on the field, kissing him.

Nico left.


	5. Makeover.

“Nico, what’s wrong?” Will sat on the edge of his bed. He couldn’t see him, but he could feel his eyes boring into him, searching for a way to heal him.

“Go away.”

“What happened? I thought you were having a good time. Then you suddenly ran off.”

Nico pulled his blankets over his head, trying to suffocate himself.

“Will, it’s obvious what’s happening.”

They both looked at Evie, Nico threatening her with his glare.

“Nico’s heart-broken.”

He sat up, throwing his blankets off himself. His eyes were bulging at her and his breathing rapid.

But she just smiled at him. “Well, the only way to get over Annabeth is to find someone new.”

Annabeth. His shoulders dropped. “I don’t need anyone new. I need to focus on school.”

“Nonsense. A casual relationship never hurt anyone. Now.” She took his hands and drew him out of bed easily. “We’ll start with a makeover. Fix your hair, get you some clothes that fit.”

“Oh, no.” He pulled away from her. “No makeover.”

But with the way she was grinning, and the way Will was studying him with those little nods, he knew he’d lost.

* * *

 Evie decided to keep his hair long, just giving him a trim, and teaching him to style it, which he knew he’d never bother to do on his own.

Then she spent a week making him a brand new wardrobe, which had him terrified. He’d seen her work, and it wasn’t his thing. Too flashy. He didn’t want to draw attention, which was her intention.

He wasn’t to worried, though, until she burnt all his old clothes.

But, when he looked at what she’d produced,  had to admit he was impressed; begrudgingly so. They were very him, even the flash.

“Well, try them on.” She pushed him behind a privacy screen.

“I don’t remember agreeing to a fashion show.” Still, he did as he was told.

“I’m an artist. I want to see my work on display.”

When he stepped out, she beamed.

But it was Will’s expression that caught his eye. He was staring with barely parted lips, and barely widened eyes, and just too intently, his eyes moving up and down Nico’s form.

His neck felt hot.

“You look wonderful.” Evie stood and applauded. “You’ll have a swarm of pretty girls rushing you by first period tomorrow.”

Nico looked to her, still feeling Will’s eyes on him. “What? Oh. Right.” Girls.

“Well, my work is done. William?” She made a grabby motion for his hand. “Let’s go. It’s almost time for the movie. We should get their early so we can get good seats.”

“All right.” He took her hand, turning back to Nico. “Do you want to come?”

He was still looking at Nico that way, and he didn’t know how to deal with it. He needed to find a way to cool down.

“No. Thanks. I’m gonna study.”

It was just a flash, but Will looked disappointed, and Nico’s heart skipped. “Okay. Well, we’ll be back in two hours or so. You can ask me anything you need then.”

Evie pushed him out, complaining that they’d be stuck in the front row if they didn’t hurry.

Before she closed the door, she turned and gave Nico a knowing look, smirking.

Was she-? Did she just help him? Did she know? How long had she know? Did she know everything?

He fell back onto the bed, running a hand through his hair and groaning when it got covered in still wet gell. He needed a shower.


	6. Some fun.

Will became moody after that, literally hanging all over Nico one moment, then ignoring him the next, like a switch. He was fidgety and short with him. He would just get up and leave the room at random moments. Sometimes he would get frustrated with Nico for not understanding his homework, then, later the same day, ask him repeatedly if he needed help.

This culminated a week later in Nico yelling at Will to jump off a ledge and drown before storming off.

He was nearly running through the courtyard when Mal clotheslined him and he hit the ground hard enough to knock the wind out of him.

She looked down at him. “What’s got you in such a tizzy?”

He glared at her as he caught his breath. “Will.”

She raised her brows. “I thought you two were getting along.”

“So did I.”

She held a hand out to him, and he accepted the help up. “So what’s the problem?”

“I have no idea.” He brushed his clothes off violently, smacking his back and bum. “He’s moody as all hell. I can’t figure out what he’s thinking. I can’t figure out if I did something wrong or not. It’s like- It’s like-”

He choked, his eyes widening. “No.” He could feel his pulse in his wrists.

Mal hummed. “Maybe.”

This couldn’t be happening. He couldn’t handle this right now. His high school life was suppose to be simple; he was suppose to go to class, do his work, graduate, and be free. He didn’t need someone, anyone, having a crush on him. It was too complicated. He didn’t need complicated. Not here.

Here was suppose to be his solace from complicated.

He pushed the heel of his palm into his chest, trying to push out the anxiety that had solidified there.

Mal put an arm around his shoulder. “I know what you need.”

Her touch calmed him a little, which was a worry in and of itself. “What?”

She smirked. “A good prank.”

Prank? “But I’m on probation.”

“Don’t worry. They won’t tattle on you.”

Who were “they”?

As it turned out, “they” were Carlos and Jay. And the prank involved Nico putting a ticked box on which he’d written “To: Jay, from: your secret admirer” since they wouldn’t recognize his script.

“Your hand writing’s really nice. They might really think it’s from a girl.”

He glared, but also blushed.

Nico knocked on the door, and ran to their hiding place in the hall up the stairs. They peaked over the rail as the door opened.

Mal’s snickers made it hard for Nico to hold back his own laughter.

They heard the sounds of talking, but couldn’t understand anything.

Mal was biting her lip, pressing her forehead to the half-wall. Nico was biting hard on the base of his thumb, the pain of teeth on bone doing nothing to stifle his anticipation.

Both guys yelled, and the two of them broke, laughing loud, collapsing on the floor. They peaked over the edge in time to see the guys slam the door open, covered from head to hips with neon coloured magic dye powder, making them burst into louder laughter, bordering on maniacal.

Jay looked up at them.

“Run!” Mal grabbed Nico’s wrist and took off.

He stumbled after her for a moment, but once he got his footing, it felt like he was flying. May lead him through a series of twists and turns, up stairs, and down others at three step leaps. Their laughing made them a little winded, Nico getting a little light-headed, which added to his flying feeling.

He heard footsteps and shouts behind them, but hardly realized they were anything important.

“Mal?”

She came to a quick stop, Nico plowing into her, knocking her forward. Ben caught her, but Nico fell to the floor, twisting as Mal kept hold of his wrist.

“Ben. Hi.” Mal bit her lips together, trying to stifle her laughter.

Nico, however, couldn’t hold his in, and just laid on his back, giggling like a child. When had he last laughed? Before Bianca, at least.

Ben looked at Nico. “What are you doing?”

“Us? Nothing.” Her face was turning even redder.

Carlos rounded the corner, glaring at them, and they broke out into another round of giggles, Mal bending over, gripping Ben’s sleeve for support.

Ben frowned, his brows furrowing. “Mal.”

“Oh, come on.” She straightened herself. “It was funny.”

“It was not!”

“And you dragged Nico into it, too.”

“Hey, he didn’t do anything against his will.”

While that technically wasn’t true, Nico was laughing to hard to contradict her.

“Mal, these pranks have got to stop.”

She rolled her eyes. “Kill joy.”

“You’re going to get in trouble.”

She shrugged. “So what if I do?”

He huffed.

Nico started to calm, taking deep breaths between bursts of giggles. It actually hurt a little.

Ben took a deep breath. “Have you finished your villains history homework?”

“Yes, dad.”

“Good.” He gave her a kiss. “Now, please fix this.” He motioned vaguely at Carlos. “Both of them, please.”

Mal huff-sighed. “Fine.” She waved her hand at him, and the dye was gone. She gave Ben a not-smile. “Happy?”

“Ecstatic. Now, I have to go.” He kissed her again. “Please behave. I like having a not-expelled girlfriend.”

She rolled her eyes. “Fine.”

“Thank you. Carlos.” Ben gave him a wave and left.

Carlos glared at Mal before storming off.

She helped Nico up. He was still trying to catch his breath, but his laughter had subsided.

“So? Was it fun?”

“More fun than I’ve had in years.”

“Good. Because there’s more of that coming.”

“Awesome.” He was surprised at how excited he was. “But not tonight.”

She shrugged. “That’s cool. I told Ben I wouldn’t do anything else, anyway. But he knows my promises to behave only last the day. We can start again as soon as tomorrow.”

Tomorrow was probably still too soon. But he had enjoyed life outside the underworld for the first time. The fact that he could do it again was enough.

“Come on. It’s Saturday. You can stay with me tonight.”

He let out a deep sigh. Good. At least he’d have some time to think before he had to face Will again.

“What about fixing Jay?”

“He’ll find us.”


	7. Apologies.

“Nico?”

He gripped his pen, glaring ahead at the splattering of trees in front of him. It had been two weeks since he’d seen a non-sleeping Will, and the time apart had only made him feel more anxious.

He sat down beside Nico. “I haven’t seen you lately.”

Nico looked back to his notebook. “I need to concentrate on school.”

He was quiet for a moment. When he spoke, Nico but the inside of his lip so as not to huff. “Are you writing a story?”

Nico held his open notebook to his chest, curling around it. He glared at Will.

"You don’t have to tell me about it. I was just trying to make conversion.“

"Are you going to start yelling at me if you don’t like my answer?”

Will visibly flinched. “I deserved that.”

"Yeah.“

He leant back on his arms. "I love this place. When the sun sets over the hills, it looks like everything’s glowing. It’s like magic.”

"Don’t you have magic readily available around here?“

Will smiled, and Nico tensed in preparation for a mood swing. "It’s different. Magic is regulated, even among those of us that can use it.”

"Regulated?“ Nico lowered his notebook to his lap, looking at Will.

"Yeah. Order is really important to good. They say it’s what separates us from villains who just do whatever they want. Here I can use my powers to heal anyone, but in some places I could get in a lot of trouble for healing a villain.”

"My father’s all about rules and deals. It’s how he works. Hazel’s father’s similar.“ He flinched at his own carelessness.

"Who’s Hazel?”

He gripped his notebook. His pencil rolled off his lap.

He’d known what he was saying when he said it. It wasn’t some type of slip. He was just too trusting of people. But now he was losing his nerve to talk about her… He felt dizzy.

"She’s kind of like my sister. We’re known each other for years.“

Now he was just talking. He shouldn’t be doing this. If he said the wrong thing. But he just wanted to talk about her.

He jumped when Will put a hand on his arm. He realised he he’d stayed top sweat.

"It’s okay. Don’t force yourself to tell me anything.”

Will looked so sincere, Nico almost didn’t believe him. People were never altruistic. It was always a trick.

But he was in the world of good now. People did actually care about others here. He could trust people. He could trust Will. Right? Mal said he could. She’d vouched for him repeatedly.

He nodded. “She’ll be here next year. We wanted her to come this year, but villains aren’t allowed to skip grades.”

"Well, I’m excited to meet her if she has your seal of approval.“

Nico smiled, pushing his mouth to his knees. "She’ll like that.”

Will looked up as the colour of the sky began to change.

He was beautiful already, but the sun shined on his face, lighting him up, turning his skin gold, making his hair look like it was glowing.

"This is my favourite sight on the entire campus.“

Nico looked over.

His heart fluttered. The last time he’d seen a sunset was before his mother died. Since then he hasn’t felt the urge, since he’d forgotten what they looked like.

Will shifted, leaning closer to him, and he smiled, his face a little pink in the reflection of the sunlight.

He didn’t need drama, or emotions running wild. But if every day were like this he could handle it.


	8. Mother

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has descriptions of Complex-PTSD, or CPTSD. It's a relatively new diagnosis that encompasses those who have gone through constant abuse for a year or longer, particularly during developmental years. More information can be found here: http://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/PTSD-overview/complex-ptsd.asp
> 
> This is a subject that will be brought up again in later chapters. I will give a warning at the beginning of each one.

Things after that were about as good as could be expected. Will was still moody, but it was balanced out with his goodie-goodie interests. He was back to trying to get him to go outside and socialise.

It was both exhausting and relieving. At least he knew what to expect with this Will.

Apparently there was a ball coming up that Will was trying to convince him to go to, but nothing sounded less appealing to Nico than being surrounded by a bunch of energized teenagers, jumping around, bumping into each other, making out, probably drunk (they were good, but still teenagers). He would just stay home and work on homework.

“You’re always working. Literally always.”

“Don’t misuse the word “literally”.

“Literally always.”

Nico sighed. He could understand how Will could come to that conclusion. He always had work at least open in front of him. But usually he was zoning out, thinking about something else, so it was very easy for him to fall behind.

“It doesn’t sound fun to me. At all. I just don’t want to go.”

Will sat across from him, pulling one leg up on his bed to face him. “Have you ever been to a ball?”

Nico rolled his eyes. He knew where this was going. “No.”

“Then how do you know you won’t enjoy it?”

“Because I know what I like.”

“And what’s that? Because I haven’t seen you enjoy anything except your writing. I never even see you read non-school books.”

Nico’s neck prickled with a blush. “That is what I enjoy.”

“You need to find something else to enjoy.”

“Why?”

“Because that’s depressing.”

Nico threw his pen at him.

“I’m just saying. It’s not healthy to have so little, and to spend so much time alone.”

Nico huffed and slouched back against the headboard, crossing his arms. “What do you know about this?”

“My mum gets depressed sometimes.”

A jilt went up Nico’s spine, exploding at every vertebrae. This was something he didn’t know. No one knew. And, by the way Will’s shoulders slumped and he looked down, and at the deep tone of his voice, he didn’t talk about it much.

Will was trusting him with something really important to him. He paid very close attention.

“My mum only had the company of her mother-” He made a strangled noise in the back of his throat. “Of her kidnapper, for eighteen years. She’s fine a lot of the time. But sometimes, when she spends more than a few days at a time cooped up, she gets a little quiet, and she stares out the window. And she takes a moment to respond to things, like she doesn’t hear or see them. And, whenever someone raises their voice, even a little, she freezes up. There are certain things we can’t say, things we can’t do. We have to be careful of our body language.”

Nico took his hand, ignoring the intense spark that shot into his shoulder and chest.

Will twisted his arm to grip it.

“What I’m saying is that she’s better now, most days. But it takes a lot of work. And it’s worse when she holes herself up.”

He was shaking.

“You’re the same way a lot of the time. You get that quiet, isolated look. And it worries me.” He was squeezing Nico’s hand too tight. It hurt. But he just let him. “I want to make sure you don’t have the same lingering problems. I want to make sure you’re healthy.”

Nico wanted to give a sarcastic or bitter response, to tell Will that he didn’t need or want his help. But he’d just opened up to him in a big way, and he couldn’t really make him feel like dirt after that. Especially while he still held Nico’s hand.

He sighed, breathy and long. “How about a compromise?” He pulled his hand free, leaning away from Will. “I’ll get out more. Once a week. But in small groups, in quiet places. Libraries, cafe’s, things like that.”

“Fine. On one condition.” He held a finger right up to Nico’s face.

“Are you seriously bargaining with me on what I do with my own time.”

“Yup.” Will popped his lips loudly on the word, making Nico cringe.

Nico eyed his grin. Was this how everyone in good’s world was? “And what’s your stipulation?”

He grit his teeth. He hated making deals. That was his dad’s thing.

“You have to go to the grand ball at the end of the year.”

Nico made a face.

“It’s fun. Everyone wears formal gowns and suits. The school holds classes on different dances all second semester. It’s held in a ballroom in Ben’s castle. Everyone’s invited.”

Well, it did sound better than a mosh pit of sweaty adolescents. “Fine. But you have to leave me alone about any other school gathering for the rest of the year.”

“Deal.” He held his hand out for Nico to shake.

And he tried to, he really did. But he couldn’t. As much as he wanted Will to be forced to adhere to his end, he couldn’t do it. It made him feel sick. He just turned his head away.

“Okay.” Nico caught the smooth edge in Will’s voice. “I think there’s a poetry reading tomorrow night at the Once Upon a Thyme Tea Shoppe. I know Reyna goes to those things.”

He was regretting the compromise already.


	9. Poetry House.

It wasn’t just Reyna at the poetry reading, but also Piper, Jason, Lou Ellen and Rachel.

Apparently Will considered six people a “small gathering”.

At least the tea shoppe had a decent assortment of drinks.

The lights went down, not so much that Nico couldn’t see to write, but enough to distract him and make him look up to the stage.

He nearly leapt to his feet when he saw who was Standing under the lights.

“Hi, everyone. Welcome to slam poetry night. I’m you’re host and owner of this shoppe, Selina.”

Everyone applauded, and a few people, including piper, whooped and whistled.

Will leant into him. “Nico? What’s wrong?”

He was pale and sweaty. He just stared at the woman with wide eyes and a pounding heart until she finished. When she left the stage, he scrambled to stuff his book in his bag.

“I have to go.”

“Nico?”

He rushed from the room as Piper took the stage, Will chasing after him.

“Nico!” He caught his arm half way down the block. “What’s going on? What was that about?”

Nico could hear his heart in his ears, mixed with an awful, high-pitched ringing.

He grabbed the front of Will’s shirt when his body spasmed. He thought he might throw up. His head ached above his right eye.

Will swore. “Hey, are you all right?” He used the heel of his palm to rub firm circles in Nico’s back.

He swallowed the saliva that pooled under his tongue. “That was Hercules’ daughter.”

“What? Oh. Oh god, Nico. I’m sorry. I didn’t even think about that.”

He was vaguely aware of Will putting a hand over his and gripping it. He thought about how clammy his entire body was.

He shook his head. “Can we just go home? Please?”

“Of course.” Will wrapped his arm around his waist, helping him walk.

It occurred to Nico that Will may have been healing him, and that it was the only thing keeping him standing.


	10. Fight fight fight!

The end of the first semester was approaching, and with it came group assignments. Nico would say that it was upsetting that no one wanted to work with him, but he’d prepared himself ahead of time. This wasn’t something unique to goods world.

Unfortunately, none of his teachers would listen to him when he asked to work by himself.

“You can’t have everything you want in life.”

Yeah, like that was a delusion he had.

So he was paired with Jason and Piper for history, Mulan’s third child, Frank, for literature, and Reyna for Charmistry.

Apparently Piper remembered him rushing out of the shoppe before her reading. She was very cold to him, barely managing to be polite.

But Jason couldn’t even manage that. He was directly in the field of open hostility. He spent the entire time they were together (which was as little as they could reason) glaring at Nico and second guessing everything he said.

“Would you like to do this assignment yourself? You can ask Professor Maryweather. Maybe she’ll listen to you.”

He could see Jason’s retort in the way his neck constricted. But he kept it at bay, in true goodie fashion.

Piper cleared her throat. “Maybe we should call it a day. I’m starting to feel hungry. Jason?”

“Sounds like a plan.”

Nico slammed his book shut. “How about we call it a week. I’ll do my part of the assignment and meet up with you before we turn it in to work out the kinks.”

“No way.” Jason snatched a book from Nico’s pile, stuffing it into his bag. “I saw your grade on the last test.”

“Right. Wouldn’t want a dark smudge on your good grades.”

Jason grit his teeth. “What are you implying?”

“Me? I’d never imply anything. Why? Guilty conscience?”

He shot to his feet, slamming his hand on the table, making Nico flinch. “Stop playing head games with me.”

Nico narrowed his eyes at Jason. “I don’t play head games.”

Piper backed away at his tone.

“Really? Because that sounds like a head game to me. Did your dad teach you to do that?”

Nico leapt over the table, tackling Jason, knocking it over. He fisted Jason’s shirt, slamming him into the ground. “Don’t you dare talk about my father!”

“Why not?” He shoved Nico away from him. “Touchy subject?”

“You have no idea what you’re talking about!”

Piper made to run to Jason’s side, but he held out a hand to stop her, keeping his eyes on Nico. “Really? Because I’ve heard all about you. You’re just like him. Backstabbing, sneaky, lurking in the shadows, manipulating people to get your way.”

“Shut up!”

“You don’t care who gets hurt as you step all over them.”

“I said shut up!” Nico punched Jason square in the jaw, making him stumble backward.

Jason used his arm to pin Nico to the wall.

Nico struggled against him, forced to stand on his tip toes. “You don’t know a thing about me!”

Jason seemed startled by his tears, and pulled back a little. But he didn’t let him down.

“What is going on here?” Clarisse stormed in and pulled Jason off Nico by the neck of his shirt.

Nico fell to the ground, grabbing his neck.

“He started it!”

“Shut it, Arendelle.” Clarisse turned to Piper. “You, third party. Spill. And I better not find out you’re lying to protect your boyfriend.”

Piper looked to Jason, then turned her attention back to Clarisse. “Well, Jason and Nico were having some problems, and so we decided to call it a night. But they said a few things to each other about good and evil, and then Nico jumped on Jason, and they started fighting.”

Clarisse turned to Nico, her arms crossed. “So you threw the first punch?”

Nico grit his teeth. Of course it would go this way. “Yes.”

Clarisse sighed. “All right, Underworld. Get to Godmothers office.”

He got to his feet, head down, and walked out of the study room, Clarisse at his heels.

“Wait.”

They looked to Jason, who ran down the hall after them.

“Nico’s not the only one at fault here. I antagonized him.”

“Go away, goodie. I didn’t ask for your help.”

Jason glared at him. “Well too bad, because I take responsibility for my actions.”

Nico took a step toward him, getting in his face. “Was that another jab?”

“It’s the truth.”

“Woah there, testosterone monsters.” Clarisse shoved the two of them apart. “If you wanna fight so bad, save it for the military club.”

“I can’t.” Nico held Jason’s glare. “Villains can’t join military first year. We can’t be trusted.”

He turned around and continued on his way.


	11. Meeting.

Will was called in as a temporary guardian for Nico, and showed up out of breath and in a panic.

“What happened?”

Nico looked away, feeling a small bit of shame eating away at his stomach like a demon. It was a new experience. But, then again, he’d never involved anyone else in his problems before.

“Doom and gloom here got into a fight with Arendelle.”

“Jason?” Will scrunched up his nose. “That doesn’t sound like him.” He took the seat beside Nico. “What happened?”

Nico shrugged, turning away from him.

The door opened and Jason came out, his lip split and his chin bruising where Nico had hit him.

Will hissed. “That looks bad.”

Nico smirked, tucking his chin into his chest.

“Let me heal you.” Will stood up, reaching for him.

“Don’t worry about it. It’ll heal in its own time. Besides, it’s your turn to see Fairy Godmother.” He motioned over his shoulder with his thumb.

Nico took a breath and stood up, his hands gripped at his sides He forced himself to keep breathing. He’d dealt with worse.

He felt Will touch his wrist and pulled away, marching through the door with his head held high. Through the corner of his eye he caught Jason staring at him before he walked away.

“Will, Nico, have a seat.” Fairy Godmother sat behind her desk with her hands folded, waiting for them to do as they were told.

“I must admit, I was disappointed to find out you were fighting, Nico. I had hoped you’d make it through the semester without getting in trouble.”

He stared at his lap.

“And with Jason of all people. I’m positively flabbergasted. I don’t think he’s ever been in trouble in his entire life.”

He gripped his shirt until his knuckles turned white.

“I’d like you to tell me what happened.”

Will turned in his chair to face Nico, waiting for him to explain.

He clenched his jaw.

“Nico?” Will touched his arm.

Nico didn’t respond. He didn’t move. He just stared at his hands, shaking, his emotions slowly shutting down, his face growing more passive.

After a while, Fairy Godmother sighed. “I see.” She pulled a folder from a stack in front of her. “I was hoping I could make an exception, since Jason admitted to having instigated you. But seeing as you can’t confirm his story.” She wrote something on a paper inside the folder; his file. “This is strike one. You will be serving detention with him tomorrow afternoon. Thank you, Will, for coming in.”

The two of them stood up and left.

As soon as the door behind them shut, Will turned on him, his hands on his hips. “Why didn’t you tell her what happened?”

Nico shrugged.

“Hey.” He grabbed Nico’s arm before he could walk off. “Why won’t you talk to me?”

Nico pulled his arm free, but turned to face Will. “It doesn’t matter.”

Will huffed. “Yes, it does. Do you realise that you can get kicked out?”

“So what if I do?”

“Don’t even play that apathetic game with me. I know you don’t want that to happen.”

Nico bit the inside of his cheek. “It doesn’t matter what I want, or how hard I try. If they want me gone, they’ll find some way to get rid of me.”

Will rolled his eyes. “Cut the drama, Nico. No one wants to see you fail. This entire thing was completely avoidable. If you’d just taken some responsibility and told Fairy Godmother what happened-”

“I did take responsibility-”

“No, you pouted like a child. Responsibility is more than just accepting punishment. It’s about taking control of your own life. You’re not doing that. You’re not doing anything. You’re just letting things happen and blaming everyone else.”

Nico glared up at him, his jaw clenched, his entire body shaking.

“Nico. What happened.”

He sighed, his entire body going slack, though he was still shaking. “I’ll tell you in the dorm.”


	12. Panic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This chapter has descriptions of a panic attack.

Detention with Jason was tense and boring. The two sat in an unused classroom by the window, Nico in the back, Jason in the front. They were the only two in detention that day, and, what was worse, the teacher, one Nico didn’t know, apparently trusted Jason enough to leave the room.

So they were stuck together, alone, for two hours.

Nico tried to make the most of it by doing his good homework. Unfortunately he was stuck, and he didn’t exactly have Will at hand to ask for help. So instead he spent most of the day watching tourney practice on the field.

Which meant watching the team captain, Percy.

Which also meant watching him show off for Annabeth.

He’d grown used to this feeling, the burning in his muscles, over the past few months. It usually came with a ducking and hiding. But, occasionally, he could allow himself to stare, and drown, his body shutting down, going slowly numb, sinking. He didn’t even cry anymore, didn’t feel the urge to.

He’d hadn’t really lost. He couldn’t. He’d never even been in the race.

That simultaneously made it easier, and much more difficult, somehow.

He hadn’t noticed Jason staring at him. Hadn’t noticed him get up, walk over, stand beside him. He hadn’t noticed his hand on his desk, or the way he leant over to follow his gaze.

“You like Percy.”

Nico jumped, his homework going flying, his chair hitting the floor with a clatter, his back slamming into the window. He felt like he was moving in slow motion, the fog not quite lifted, though his heart was racing, and his ears were screaming.

Jason held his hands up. Nico could see his expression, but he couldn’t understand it. “It’s all right.”

Each heartbeat shook Nico’s vision. “N-no. I-” His voice broke.

“It’s okay.” Jason reached for him, but Nico shoved him away.

He pushed past him, knocking over several chairs as he ran from the room.

He didn’t know where he was going. He just ran. When he hit a wall, he picked another direction and ran that way.

He had to get away from Jason, and away from Percy.

He registered Will right in front of him a fraction of a second before plowing into him, sending them both sprawling.

He tried to get back up, but his hands shook so much that it slipped off the wall and he hit the ground again.

“Nico?” Will grabbed his wrist.

He tried to pull away, pushing on Will’s chest. But his body barely worked. And the harder he tried, the harder it was to breathe.

“Nico, you’re having a panic attack.” Will took his other wrist, forcing him to hold still. “You have to tell me what’s wrong.”

“He knows.” The words burned his throat. “He knows and he’s gonna tell Percy.” He was crying. “He’s gonna tell Percy.” His voice squeaked and broke. Each breath came out louder than the last.

“Who’s gonna tell Percy, Nico?”

“Jason.” He couldn’t hear his own answer. “Jason’s gonna tell Percy.”

Will hugged him, holding him firmly, his hand at the back of Nico’s head, ignoring how Nico fought against him. “Jason’s not gonna tell Percy, Nico.”

“He is. He’s gonna tell.”

“He isn’t. I won’t let him.”

Nico stopped fighting, though he didn’t calm down.

“Don’t worry, Nico. I’m not going to let Jason tell Percy. I promise, Nico.”

His name was like hypnotism coming from Will’s mouth. He kept finding ways to use it, and Nico found it a little easier to breathe every time he did.

Eventually, when he stopped crying, Will began to sing to him, softly, and off key. But, at that moment, it was the most beautiful sound Nico had ever heard. He just listened as Will rocked him on the hallway floor for who knows how long.


	13. Day Off.

Will had explained to Nico’s teachers that he would be talking a day off, which they all apparently agreed to. Probably since Will was such a perfect goodie.

He was surprised when Jason stopped by, and he buried himself in his blankets, trying to shut his voice out.

“Just tell him that I’m sorry for freaking him out. And I’m not going to tell anyone.”

Liar. When people had dirt on people, they always used it. Just because he was good, didn’t mean Nico was going to fall for his lies.

“I will.”

“Thanks.”

Will closed the door and came back over to sit on Nico’s bed. He pulled Nico’s head onto his lap and played with his hair, as he’d been doing since he got back from class.

“Why are you being so nice to me?”

“Because you’re my friend.”

Nico pulled the blanket down to his chin and looked up at Will, who smiled back at him.

“You have poor taste in friends.”

Will laughed. “Maybe.”

Nico closed his eyes and just felt Will’s hand on his head. “Don’t you have homework to do?”

“One day won’t hurt my grades to much.”

Nico looked at Will’s desk, covered in open books and papers. He never thought Will capable of missing an assignment. He was always so anxious, his foot and fingers tapping, his music playing so loud in his ears Nico could hear the words, arched over his work. And yet, right then he seemed so calm. All because Nico was having a hard time.

He closed his eyes, deciding he liked having friends.


	14. Project

Jason was awkwardly nice to Nico the next time they worked together, frustrating Nico and confusing Piper. He offered to help Nico out when he was confused, and even tried to start a conversation.

Did he think that just because he knew about Nico’s crush that they were friends now? Less than a week ago they were trading blows.

For now they just needed to get through this project. Then all the goodies would go home for break and he would finally have some time to himself.

“Hey, Nico.” Jason glanced up at him. “Do you wanna catch dinner with us after this?”

“I’m actually going to do something before dinner.”

“Yeah? We could get dinner a little later.”

“No thanks.”

“Oh. Okay.” Jason sat back, letting out a breathy, audible sigh.

Nico closed the book he was using and passed it to Piper.

“I was wondering, Nico.” Piper flipped through his notes. “You’re actually really good at history. So why is your grade so low?”

Nico glanced up at them without moving his head. Jason watched him, while Piper kept her eyes down. He looked back to his tablet. “The history they taught us on the Isle was different.”

They both stopped what they were doing and stared at him.

He looked between them. “What?”

“Different like how?”

He shrugged. “Just a greater focus on evil.”

Piper looked to Jason and he nodded. “Teach us about it.”

“What?” Nico scooted back.

“Teach us about it. We could use it as a contrast to what we learn here.”

“What? But, I don’t have any of my books here. We wouldn’t be able to source it.”

Jason shrugged. “That’s fine. We can just message someone on the Isle, and they can help us.”

“Totally. Except for that part where there’s not tech on the isle. Which means no phones, no computers, and no wifi.” He counted them on his fingers and held them out to Jason.

“Oh, right.” Jason sat back.

“Well, why don’t we do it anyway?” Piper sat up straight, lifting herself so she could reposition her bum on the chair. “As long as you know what you’re talking about, what’s the worse that could happen?”

“Yeah.” Jason leant toward him, grinning, his eyes bright. “So we get a few points taken off. At least our presentation will be unique.”

“Slow down there, mister perfect.”

“Mister perfect?”

“The other day you were super paranoid about your straight A’s.”

“Well, actually, it was less about my grades, and more about, well.” He lowered his voice. “You.”

“Yeah.” Nico locked eyes with him. “I kinda got that impression.”

Jason flushed, looking toward Piper.

“This is gonna take a lot of trust. I could lie to you about everything.”

Piper, predictably, looked uncomfortable at that. She turned to Jason, searching for some sort of guidance in his face.

He held her gaze for a long moment, then smiled at Nico, looking him directly in the eye. “I trust you.”

Nico’s jaw fell. He looked to Piper, who would surely talk some sense into him.

She shrugged. “If Jason’s up for it, then I am, too. His grades are better than mine, anyway.”

Nico pinched the bridge of his nose, squeezing his eyes shut. “You’re both crazy.”

“Yeah.” Jason sat back. “LIke mother, like son, right?” He looked to Piper.

“My mum made her name by trusting people.”

Nico heaved a heavy sigh. “Fine. You’re loss if this goes bad.”

“Awesome.” Jason pulled his laptop in front of him, ready to type. “Now, teach us.”


	15. Run in.

Nico’s first presentation was with Frank, and it went off without a hitch. And he had to admit, he liked working with him. Sure, he was uncomfortable around Nico, but he didn’t treat him like he was unable to do his own part of the project.

But, by far, his favourite person to work with was Reyna. And this included other villains for small projects throughout the semester. She quickly dismissed her apprehension about the coffee house and the two got right to work.

Reyna treated him like an equal in the project, despite being a villain, and being two years younger. He had his own work that he did, and she helped him with the things he had trouble with without judgement, and listened to him when he spoke in the same manner. Other than that they rarely spoke. It was the perfect arrangement for him.

Will put his hands on his hips as he watched the two of them say good bye after a particularly long study session. “I knew you’d like Reyna.”

Nico rolled his eyes. “Whatever.” But his lip twitched. “Let’s just go get some food.”

On their way to the cafeteria, they entered a hall with a small group of people conglomerated outside the bathrooms, with Percy in the centre.

Nico froze, Will walking a few more feet before turning around to look at him.

“What’s wrong?”

His heart was beating like crazy. He had to get out of there.

Percy looked at him, locking eyes with him for a moment, and Nico looked down. “Nico?”

He gripped his bag strap. He couldn’t breathe.

Percy made his way over to him. “I thought you got kicked out. I haven’t seen you all year.”

Nico’s eyes trailed up Percy’s body as he lifted them to look at his face. His pulse rushed. He could feel every beat travel up his neck and into his jaw.

He swallowed. “I’ve been busy.”

Percy looked to Will and nodded amiably at him. “I’m glad to see you’re still here.”

“Yeah.”

Something in Will’s eyes changed, and he wrapped an arm around Nico’s shoulder, making him jump. “Sorry, Percy, but we’re kind of in a hurry. Can you two catch up later?”

“Oh, yeah.” Percy stepped back. “I’ll catch you  later, all right Neeks?”

“Yeah.” Nico looked down, and let Will lead him down the hallway.

His mouth was dry and his hands were shaking when they finally went out the double doors to the courtyard. He took a breath and looked up at Will, his face still red. “Thanks.”

Will smiled at him. “No problem.” He squeezed Nico’s shoulder.

Nico thought he’d let him go, but instead he led him the rest of the way to the cafeteria, and Nico let him. He was growing slowly used to this simple kind of intimacy.


	16. Presentation.

Nico’s hands shook as he waited for his group’s history presentation. He looked to Jason, who looked annoyingly fine. “Are you sure you want to do this? We can still remove my parts.”

“It’ll be fine.”

He looked around at the people filing into the classroom. “Pretty sure it won’t be.”

“Nico.” Jason put a hand on his shoulder. “It’ll be fine.”

He looked at Jason’s hand, his eyebrow twitching. “You are putting way too much faith in me.” He removed the hand, dropping it back down on the desk.

Jason shrugged with one shoulder, his ease frustrating Nico further. “My family has a history of misunderstandings and poor decisions. I like to be open to changing my opinions.”

Nico wasn’t familiar with Jason’s family’s story. He made a note to look it up over break.

Piper sat down on the other side of Jason, leaning forward, her hands gripping the sides of her seat, and smiled at Nico. “Ready?”

He groaned, putting his face to his desk.

Jason laughed. “I don’t think Nico likes being the centre of attention.”

“Aw. Don’t worry, Neeks. It’ll be fine.”

He sat up and glared at her. “Will you stop saying that?”

She lifted her hands up, palms facing him, and leant back.

“Look at it this way.” Jason leant forward, his forearms on the desk. “The sooner we do this, the sooner it’ll be over.”

And the sooner he could be rid of Jason and Piper.

The thought left him feeling a bit hollow.

They were the second group to present. Nico gripped his note cards so hard he tore a few around the edges, feeling everyone’s eyes on them. He kept his eyes on the floor while Jason spoke.

“Princess Aurora’s parents, when she was born, threw a grand party, and they invited three good fairy’s. However, they left out one of the strongest in the land; Maleficent.”

Nico knew his queue, He’d practiced it over and over with Will, who, he decided, was made of at least fifty-percent patience.

“Births were public affairs.” His voice shook, and he stared at his notecards, but he projected and recited his lines as he’d done in his dorm room. “To not be invited was a huge insult to Maleficent. And, to be turned away so publicly was unheard of.”

The rest of the presentation went that way, with Jason and piper giving good information, and Nico following with evil. He didn’t look up once, but he also didn’t stumble, either.

As soon as Professor Maryweather dismissed them, her tone giving nothing of her opinion away, he went back to his seat, hiding between Jason and Piper. He spent the rest of class slouching in his seat, trying to hide from the rest of the class.

It was over. He probably failed, what with defending Maleficent in a class taught by one of her adversaries, but it was over. He only had to take a final and he was done.


	17. Invitation

“Hey, Nico. Can I talk to you?”

He looked to Will, standing at the edge of his bed. “What is it?”

“Well, okay.” He sat on the bed, pulling one leg up, turning slightly toward him. He still faced away, looking down at his lap, but there was a closeness between them that made Nico feel a little uncomfortable. “The semester’s ending, and we’re going on break, right?”

Nico stared at him, waiting for him to continue. He didn’t, making Nico’s fingers twitch with agitation. He leant forward, mimicking Will’s posture. “Yeah?”

“Well, the school will be nearly empty, which has got to sound pretty boring, right?”

“Not really, no.”

Will bit the inside of his cheek. “Okay, no. I should have expected that. Okay.” He pushed his other leg on the bed so he was facing Nico squarely. “Do you want to come to my place for the break?”

Nico dropped his pencil, staring at Will. “Your what now?”

“Um. My house. Well, not house, but, you know.”

Nico looked down at his notebook, hoping it held some type of clarification for what exactly was happening. “I’m a villain.”

“My dad’s a thief.”

“Yeah, but he wasn’t evil.”

“Neither are you.”

“But my father is.”

“So was my mother’s mother.”

“But your mother wasn’t really related to her.”

“Nico.” WIll shifted forward to sit beside him, pulling his legs in to sit criss-cross. “You’re not your father. That’s more than obvious.”

His heart slammed against his ribcage. “They won’t want me there.”

“They think it’s a great idea.”

He gaped at Will. “You asked them already? They know who I am, right?”

Will nodded. “I told them about you at the beginning of the year. “ He put a hand on Nico’s knee. “They think you sound awesome, and they want to meet you.”

He tried to come up with another argument. There were more, he was sure, but in his panic nothing came to him.

“Please?”

He looked Will in the eyes, in his bright blue eyes. His mouth felt dry. Slowly, with effort, he nodded. “Okay.”

Will grinned, really smiled in a way Nico hadn’t ever seen, and squeezed his knee. “Awesome. They’ll be here as soon as classes are over.”

He watched Nico for a moment longer, a very warm, drawn out moment. Then he stood up, rubbing his palms over his pants, taking a deep breath. “All right. Well, it’s bed time for me.” He crawled into his bed, turning his back to Nico. “Night.”

Nico stared at him a moment longer, vaguely aware of the fact that it was still light out, wondering what was happening, his stomach churning.

“Nico?”

He jumped, looking away, despite that Will hadn’t moved. He felt like he’d been caught feeding his dinner to Cerberus. “What?”

“Thanks.”

Nico looked back to Will, seeing the flush on the back of his neck. His chest felt warm. “No problem.”


	18. They'll Love You

Nico sat on his bed, staring at the wall. His face had a practiced blankness, hiding the complete mess that was his entire inner world. It was only three weeks, three entire weeks. He could mess up a thousand ways in that time.

What would happen then, when he inevitably stepped out of line? They would grow angry. Would they send him back to school? Ban Will from seeing him? He’d have to change rooms, get a new good buddy.

He still had time to back out. He just had to go to Fairy Godmother and tell her he was staying at school, like the majority of the freshman villain class. But the thought of Will’s disappointed face, his hurt face, kept him sitting there, his body unusually still.

“You ready?”

Nico’s body moved automatically at Will’s voice, standing and pulling his single bag over his shoulder. And, with the movement, came the cracking of his shell. His hands began to shake, and his breaths got deeper. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”

“Hey.” WIll looked like he was going to take Nico’s hand, but he pulled back, his movement fluid, but unnatural. “It’ll be fine. My parents are awesome. You’ll see.”

Nico sneered. “Yeah, okay.”

“Really. Prepare yourself for a hug. They do a lot of that, especially my grandparents.”

Nico couldn’t even remember the last time he’d been hugged, sans his panic attack. When Bianca was alive, maybe.

“Come on.” Will wrapped his arm around Nico’s, pulling him toward the school gates.

Will looked almost nothing like his parents. He didn’t have their hair or eyes, or their nose, or their jaw. He had a small frame like his mother, but he stood taller than both of them. In face, had Will not had his mother’s previous power for healing, Nico would have assumed he was adopted.

Rapunzel smiled at them and pulled Nico into a hug along with Will, each of them under one arm. She pulled Will down to kiss his cheek, giving Nico one as well.

Nico was vaguely aware that his nerves had dissipated, replaced by shock and confusion.

“Hello, Nico.” Rapunzel put a hand on his cheek, looking him in the eyes. “Will’s told us so much about you.”

“Um.”

She smiled at him. “Come on. We have a long trip ahead of us.” She took Nico’s bag, insisting after he tried to keep it, and hefted it into the car.

Flynn put an arm around Will’s shoulder and ruffled Nico’s hair. “We have a very affectionate family. You’ll get used to it.” He looked like he was contemplating something. “Eventually.

Will laughed, following his parents to the car.

Nico stood where he was for a moment, an ache in his stomach as he thought that Bianca would have loved them.


	19. Is That a Fucking Gremlin or Something?

Nico liked Will’s family. He’d assumed they were somehow perfect, the ideal magazine cover household. Or castlehold. Whatever. And, at first, that’s how they were. Flynn was always touching Rapunzel and looking at her like she was the sun. It made his chest ache, and he wanted to go back to school, just to get away.

He locked himself in the library after the first day, desperate to be alone after they tried so hard to include him in everything they did. It was too much of a shift, too quick.

Rapunzel wandered in after dinner, smiling at him. “I was wondering where you’d been.”

He made his face passive. “I like books.”

“Me, too.” She pulled one off the shelf and sat beside Nico. “I always come here after dinner while the boys do something else. It’s good to have some peace at the end of the day.”

Nico expected her to continue rambling, as she seemed prone to doing. But she just pulled her feet up beside her and read, occasionally saying something to herself or laughing.

It was nice. Nico had never just read with someone before.

Flynn invited Nico to join him for sword practice the next afternoon while Will and Rapunzel watched, cheering them on.

The next morning they went for a walk in town, and Nico got to see Will interact with the people of his kingdom. He was particularly liked by the old ladies, which made Nico smile.

And no one seemed bothered or frightened by Nico, which was an entirely new experience to him. Even on the Isle, people avoided him. Maybe it was just that no one here knew who he was.

He liked that idea.

A little girl looked up at him, her eyes wide, a ratty old doll clutched in her hand.

“Um, hello.”

“Hello. I’m Mary.”

Nico looked around for help, but everyone was busy. “Hello, Mary.”

“Are you Prince Will’s friend?”

“Yes. I go to school with him.”

She nodded. “What’s your name?”

He gave WIll a panicked look, trying to draw his attention. “Um. I’m Nico.”

“Hi, Nico.” She stuck a finger in her mouth, biting it. “Do you wanna play with us?”

“Um.” He looked to the small group of children, running around and screaming. Was he sweating? “Okay.”

“Okay.” Mary took his hand and dragged him over to the other kids.

He had no idea how to play with kids.

“Push me on the swing.”

He did as he was told, glad for some direction. Then he pushed another kid, then another, until Will came over to them.

“There you are. I thought you got lost.”

“Is it time to go?” He sounded like he was begging. He basically was.

Several kids whined.

Will looked at them, then back to Nico. He smiled at him. “Yeah. Sorry.”

Nico nodded, then went to Will’s side.

Mary took his hand. “Will you come play with us again?”

He stared at Will, pleading for help.

Will bit his cheek, holding back a laugh. He crouched down in front of Mary. “We’ll try to come visit again before we go back to school. But we’re very busy, so I can’t promise, okay?”

She pouted, looking down. “Okay.”

Will put a hand on her head. “Good girl.” He stood up, looking back to Nico. “Ready?”

Nico nodded.

“Bye, Nico.” Mary waved at him.

He waved back, then rushed away with Will, who waited until they were back on the street before laughing.

“You looked so lost.”

Nico stuffed his hands in his pockets. “I’ve never been around a kid before.”

Will sobered a little, but still looked amused. “Never?”

“Never.”

“Not even on the Isle?”

He shook his head.

“So, what did you do there if you didn’t have friends, and if you’ve never been around a kid?”

Nico shrugged. “I read, mostly. Practiced swordplay.”

“So you were never around people?”

“Not really.” He looked down at the ground, kicking the dirt with his heel as they walked. “When you’re the kid of a god, you tend to unnerve people.”

Will put an arm around his shoulder. “Well, no one here cares.”

Nico didn’t respond. Just because his family didn’t care, didn’t mean these people wouldn’t. But he didn’t want to mess with Will’s idealism. He found he actually wanted to protect it, contrary to how he’d felt before. It made him smile.


	20. The Breaking Point

Nico was certain he’d be sent away after his first panic attack, especially since it wasn’t brought on by anything that he could put his finger on. He just spilt his milk at breakfast after a week of what seemed like the closest thing to perfect he’d experienced in four years, and just burst out in uncontrollable, body wracking sobs.

Will immediately ran to his side, wrapping Nico in his arms.

When another pair of arms encircled him from the other side, a sob caught in his throat, making him hiccup.

Soft singing came from both sides of him, soprano and alto, perfectly in sinc. And his tears came back, slower, calmer. They didn’t choke him anymore. And they lasted a long while, the soothing singing never stopping.

He had a pounding headache when he finally managed to compose himself. Rapunzel ordered him a warm bath drawn, but he wouldn’t let go of Will. Every time he did, he began to shake and his breath grew short.

And Will, with a kindness only Hestia could produce, obliged his childish desire.

“You shouldn’t be so nice to me.”

“And why’s that?”

Nico stared straight ahead at the poster of some movie Nico had never heard of on Will’s wall. “Because it’ll make it harder when this is over.”

Will’s hand came to a sudden stop on his head. “Seriously?”

Nico stiffened. Here it was.

“Are you seriously pushing me away like that? Still?”

Nico’s brows knit. He sat up, looking at Will. “What are you talking about?”

“What-? You’re going off about this- friendship ending. What’s that about?”

“I’m just speaking realistically. We can’t be together forever.”

“Why not?”

“Why no- Because I’m a villain.”

“You’re the only one who care who your dad is.”

Nico’s head gave a harsh pound at Will’s raised voice. “I’m not the only one who cares.”

“You’re the only one here who does.”

“Will, eventually this is going to matter. It may not in school, but what about when school ends? When you’re king are you still going to have the son of the lord of the dead around?”

“Yes.”

Nico leant back, his chest felt somehow tight and light at the same time. “You’ll change your mind.” He could barely hear his own voice it was so quiet. “When things get rough, you’ll change your mind then.”

Will yelled, standing up and turning to face Nico head on. “You’re incorrigible. You’re so intent on playing the victim that you’re forcing people away from you.”

Nico stared at him, his mouth open. “I am literally the child of death.”

“You’re a drama queen is what you are.”

“Excuse me?”

“You’re the lord of drama.”

Nico stood up, his legs wobbling, and his head reeling. He fell back, unable to hear anything but the ringing in his ears for a moment.

Will’s hand was at his back. “Are you okay?”

He nodded as the rush passed.

“Nico, look. If you keep pushing people away, eventually it works. Right now, there’s nothing that can make me leave. So you’ve got to stop assuming I’m just going to abandon you.”

Nico didn’t want to respond. He wasn’t convinced at all. But he didn’t want to fight, not with Will. So he nodded.

“Okay.” Will put an arm around him, and Nico rested his head on Will’s shoulder. “Now, you should take that bath. The heat will be good for your headache.”

He nodded again, and let Will help him to his feet, all of his fight gone, leaving him feeling like a lost soul.

Will would leave him, sooner or later. It was just a matter of waiting.

His chest tightened at the thought.


	21. Pep-talk

The next week was quieter. There were no trips into town, Nico ate his breakfast and lunch alone, and he spent all his free time in the library.

It was nice. It was familiar. But it felt hollow and lacking after the the week prior. It was too much like being back in the Underworld. But the more time he spent alone, the harder it was to go back to Will and his family.

He wanted to hide on Thursday afternoon when Flynn walked into the library while he sat at the window, his book open on his lap, watching Will and Rapunzel take a walk through the garden. But it would have been too awkward.

Flynn pulled up a chair, sitting across from him, and smiled down at his family.

“You know, Will had a hard time making friends as a kid.”

Nico looked at Flynn for a moment before turning his attention back outside.

Will spoke with his mother in a completely unguarded way that Nico had never seen before. His smile was beautiful. It was almost impossible to think about him not being able to interact with just about anyone. After all, he’d even managed to befriend Nico.

“He’s always been a caretaker, even as a boy. He wanted to help his mother so bad. He would stay at home all day and sit with her.” Flynn chuckled. “Of course, that only made her worry.”

Nico almost smiled. It sounded just like him.

“I can still remember when he found out he couldn’t fix her. He was devastated. It was probably the hardest day if his life. And hers.” He put his chin in his hand and smiled down at them. “Rapunzel wanted desperately to be normal for him, for everyone. But there are some things you just can’t change.” He leant back in his chair in a very unkingly way, fidgety. Nico remembered that he was an ex-thief, and an orphan. “It’s been twenty years, and I still have trouble understanding that.”

“Does it ever get easier?” He hadn’t meant to say it; the words hadn’t even passed through his mind before they were out in the open. He blushed, looking down.

“Some days, yes. Some days, no. There’s always this feeling that we should have moved past this by now, and I know she feels it, too.”

Nico’s chest hurt. If all of this couldn’t get Rapunzel past this hollow, empty, cold, burdening thing, what hope was there for him, who would never have anything even close to this?

“But, honestly, she worries about it more than we do. She wants to be perfect so we don’t worry about her. For the first year she hid away every time she needed to cry. And she didn’t let Will see her upset for five years. In the end, though, she just wound up making us worry more.”

He sighed. “I love her.”

Nico’s heart beat hard, cutting off his air.

Rapunzel looked up and saw them staring. Nico felt the urge to look away, but she gave them a smile and waved.

When Will followed her gaze, landing on Nico, his heart skipped. Will had a blank expression, some sort of emotion pulling at the edges that Nico couldn’t decipher.

“And I want to make sure she has someone to lean on when she needs to.”

Nico looked back to Flynn, breaking the eye contact with Will. His lips parted. He wanted to say something, but he had no idea what.

“Every relationship you have is going to be different. Every person comes with baggage. But sometimes the problems just don’t compare to how you feel.”

He put a hand on Nico’s shoulder and looked him in the eyes before walking out, Nico watching him go, staring at the door after it closed.

His stomach felt heavy. What was that? Was it suppose to help him? It didn’t make him feel any better, only more confused.

He looked back out the window, but Will and Rapunzel were gone.

He sighed and closed his book, heading to his room.


	22. Understanding

There was a knock at Nico’s door after dinner that night. His heart beat frantically, expecting Will, but Rapunzel walked in instead.

He was appalled at how disappointed he felt.

“Hello, Nico.”

He scrambled to his feet, nearly sprawling to the floor when his leg got wrapped up in his blanket. “Hello.”

“Please sit down. I want to talk to you.”

This was it. He was getting sent back. He’d expected as much. What kind of guest comes over and then avoids his hosts for a week?

Still, he’d expected Will to tell him. His chest hurt that it was his mum instead.

He sat down, perched on the edge of the bed, his hands gripped into tight fists on his lap.

Rapunzel sat beside him. “Will told me he mentioned my episodes to you.”

Nico as caught off guard. He looked at her. “What?”

She smiled lightly. “The woman I thought was my mother would make comments and jokes about me, making me feel like I was small, and like I couldn’t do anything on my own.”

Nico’s back tensed.

“I believed this about myself for eighteen years. Until Eugene came along and helped me leave the tower I was trapped in.” She took a shuddering breath. “We fell in love, but my mother convinced me he was just using me, and I returned with her. In the end, Flynn almost died trying to save me.

“I didn’t realise until much later that what trapped me there were my own insecurities.”

Nico began to tap on his thigh.

“My real parents love me. They never stopped. But I was so used to my mother’s sudden fits of anger that I thought the same thing would happen again the moment I made a mistake. My life had always been a series of waiting for a bomb to explode. So, even though nothing came, I just grew more anxious, until I just broke down one day.

“Of course, that didn’t help at all. Crying got me its own punishment. I was told I was over-reacting and sent away to calm down.” Rapunzel pulled at a lock of hair at her ear. “I expected the same from my new family. I thought they would send me away. So I tried to hide it, and to be a better daughter. I forced all of my needs away and lived for them. I became a blank slate.”

Nico’s breath was quick and shallow. He began to scratch at his pants.

“For over a year I lived like that. And they knew, my parents, and Eugene. They were worried about me. But I thought they were scrutinizing me. It only made me more scared.”

Rapunzel’s breath was ragged, and it somehow made Nico relax. He stopped scratching.

“When they finally found me crying, I got so scared I just shut down. I couldn’t feel anything. I was positive they’d send me away. I’d never been more sure of anything in my life.”

“Did they?”

She shook her head. “They held me until I was back to normal. And we talked, about everything. I was scared to tell them what had happened and how I felt. But they were patient and understanding.”

Nico’s eyes filled with tears. He bit the inside of his lip.

“It took a long time to completely open up, though. Years. Eugene asked me to marry him three times before I agreed. I could hear my mother’s voice telling me that he would leave me every time, and I got scared. And then I had Will, and it was like every insecurity and fear I had was amplified. I didn’t know how to raise a child. What if I couldn’t love him properly? What if I was too broken? What if I treated him the way my mother treated me?

“I fell into a horrible depression for months. I could barely take care of him. One day, seemingly out of nowhere, I finally snapped out of it. I just looked at him in Eugene’s arms, and my world got lighter. And I was determined never to let him know how broken I was. I had to be strong for him, someone he would rely on, who loved him.

“But that just made it harder on him when he found out. He was furious with himself for never realising that mummy was sad. He took it on himself to make me better. And that was my fault. Because this was normal for me, and I should have taught him that.”

She smiled at Nico. “Will is a perceptive and kind boy. He always has been. And he wants to save the world.”

She curled her hand around the back of Nico’s neck, her skin warm. “I want you to know that you’re not alone, Nico. It’s okay to be scared, and it’s okay to be hurt. But you don’t have to suffer in silence. No one here’s going to hate you for anything you’ve been through. And no one blames you for it, even if you blame yourself.”

She kissed his forehead, and he began to cry. He tried to keep his tears at bay, clenching his jaw and shaking.

Rapunzel pulled him into a hug, holding him until he broke, and until he calmed down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was really displeased with how Rapunzel's abuse was handled in the movie. It was far too easy, and made her seem one-dimensional. So this, in a way, is my way of rectifying that. I'll probably do more with it later.


	23. I'm sorry.

Nico thought that facing Will would be easier than facing his parents. After all, he knew Will. They’d lived in the same room for four-and-a-half months. Will had been the one to calm him down after every freak out and bad day. Will was the first person since Hazel that he’d allowed to touch him. He liked Will.

But when he tried to imagine Will’s hand on his, brushing his hair from his face, his fingers running through it, all Nico could feel were sharp claws scraping at his scalp, hanging his hair.

That look he’d given Nico from the garden, what exactly had it meant? Nothing good, certainly.

He knew Will didn’t want to see him. Maybe he should just find a way back to school a week early.

But then facing him would be even more difficult. He wouldn’t be able to do it. He’d get a new room and spend the next two-and-a-half years ducking behind corners and into empty classrooms to avoid him, just like he was doing with Percy.

He couldn’t stand the thought of Will becoming another Percy.

So he sucked up whatever pitiful scrap of courage he had and walked into the dining hall during breakfast the next morning, where he knew Will was eating with his family.

His heart was pounding in his throat as he stood in the doorway, all three pairs of eyes turned on him.

He found Will’s, passing over Rapunzel’s and Flynn’s on the way. But he didn’t pause to see how they looked at him. They didn’t scare him as much as the idea of Will turning away from him.

He opened his mouth to speak, but only gaped like a fish, trying to push something out. “I’m sorry.” “Please don’t hate me.” “I want to keep being your friend.”

Instead he began to cry again.

He covered his mouth, backing away a few steps. He wanted to run, but he kept his eyes on Will. He wanted to believe what Rapunzel had said about him caring. So he stood still, his legs shaking, his stomach having a fit. Everything told him he was being unreasonable, and that Will didn’t want him.

He had to leave. He had to go- go- go somewhere. Away from here. Where he wouldn’t anger Will.

He turned to run.

“Nico.”

Will’s voice was like an anchor. He couldn’t move.

He heard him sigh. “Do you… Do you want some breakfast?”

He turned slowly back to look at him, his throat swollen and hard.

Will gave him a tight smile, and Nico wasn’t sure if should still leave. He had to just be being nice.

But he caught sight of Rapunzel beside him, who smiled and nodded, and he tried to swallow away the thickness.

Maybe though… maybe he couldn’t do it. Maybe tomorrow he’d wake up and hide away again. But he could pretend he could change for today, couldn’t he?

He nodded.

Will moved his seat over, making a place next to him, beside Flynn.

There was no way it was this easy. Nothing in life was this easy.

But he moved forward anyway and took the seat, and everyone began to talk, their voices lower than before, their excitement subdued. Flynn put a hand on his shoulder, resting it there while things moved forward.

Nico swallowed his tears away, his hands gripped on his lap. He could do this. He could...


	24. Packing.

There was a sort of magic that surrounded Nico after that. Things were easier.

They weren’t perfect. Will didn’t pretend that nothing had happened. When Nico began to retreat into himself again, Will shot him a glare and physically pulled him out by his wrists.

“You promised.”

He actively went to Nico’s room and forced him to spend social time with them. He ate three meals a day in the dining hall, he joined Flynn in the afternoon, and he spent his evenings reading in the library with Rapunzel. Otherwise he and Will would do various other things together, like go for walks through the garden, go for a boat ride, or stay up until ridiculous hours talking.

The only thing he was exempt from was walks through town. They had all agreed that it was too much for him.

It was a relief not to have the entire event forgotten. Having everyone pretend it never happened would have felt like they were ignoring an entire part of him.

Somehow Will had managed to find the part of Nico that had the broken parts of him and the parts that were still good, both fo them, that even Nico didn’t know was there. He’d always been moving through life, waiting for the next breakdown. He didn’t even know he still had a real smile in him anymore.

Will had managed to make him feel like a real person, instead of a monster that could destroy the entire world at any moment.

Like he was more than a villain.

As the last week at his home came to an end, and Nico packed up his few possessions, Will came to his room.

“Hey.”

Nico sat on his heels and smiled up at him. “Hey. I’m just finishing packing. What’s up?”

Will sat on his bed, running his palms over his pants, looking down. “So, I was talking to my parents a few minutes ago.”

Nico’s smile fell away, a oldness filling his stomach. He should have known this week couldn’t just end pleasantly. Something had to happen.

He felt a little angry, too, that Will’s parents had been pretending that everything was fine, and that they liked- that they cared about Nico.

And he’d fallen for it.

He took a moment to force his jaw to relax before he responded through clenched teeth. “Yeah?”

“Well, we were all kind of hoping you’d come back for summer vacation.”

Everything sort of stopped for a moment as Nico looked up at him, his eyes wide and his lips parted. “What?”

Will fidgeted, looking up but not at Nico. “Yeah. We thought it would be better than making you go back to the Underworld or the Isle. And, like, you seem to really like it here, and we like having you here. And dad really likes having someone to practice sword fighting with, since I’ve never been too into it and all.” He bit his bottom lip, looking at Nico, finally. “So, do you want to?”

Nico’s breaths were shallow and quick. “Um, yeah. That sounds cool.”

Will grinned at him, and Nico had to look away, his face warm. “Great. I’ll let them know.” He hopped up.

As he passed Nico, he put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it lightly without pausing.

Nico felt breathless, curling forward, his forehead pressed to the soft carpet when the door closed.

This wasn’t something he’d expected to ever happen to him. People cared about him, and not in the vague, detached “a child should be loved” sort of way, but him. Nico. Son of Hades. Child of a villain. Shattered mess of a boy Nico.

He closed his eyes and took a shuddering breath.

He’d forgotten what hope felt like.


	25. Back to School

As Nico sat in the car across from Rapunzel and Flynn his stomach did heavy flips. He didn’t want to say goodbye to them. The closer they got to the school, the more he felt like something would happen, and he wouldn’t be back. Even as he told himself that it was imagined paranoia, and that they were more understanding than that, his stomach continued to fill with liquid lead.

When they all got out of the car, Nico’s entire body felt heavy and numb. When Rapunzel hugged him, he had difficulty lifting his arms.

When she kissed his forehead, the ghost of Bianca took her place, and it took everything in him not to cry. If he cried then, in front of all the other students arriving, all glad to be back and to see their friends he would never be able to forget it. School was widely good against evil, even if some people managed to move past it and become friends.

“We’ll see you two in a month at the picnic, all right?”

Will nodded and kissed his mother’s cheek. “Bye.”

Nico nodded to them, grabbing his bag. His eyes were already watering, and he didn’t trust himself to speak.

Rapunzel understood and put her hand on his chin before heading back to the car.

Will put an arm around Nico and led him back to their dorm, where he could cry in safety.


	26. New Semester

Nico’s schedule for the second semester was almost the same as the first, except for two classes. The first was a senior literature class Will had convinced him to sign up for. The second was “Evil Deconstructed”.

He’d told Will he’d signed up for it on a whim, but really he’d spent a full week tossing it around in his head. He’d even received a warning about his schedule request being late.

He’d expected to find a lot villains kids, but he was surprised to see the amount of good. There were about ten, the class only allowing thirty.

He took a seat at the side, toward the middle, where no one would pay attention to him, and were he could stare out the window if he decided he didn’t like the class.

“Nico?”

He jumped, looking up at Jason, who was grinning down at him.

“You’re in this class, too?” He slipped his bag over the back of the chair in front of Nico and sat in it sideways so he could still talk.

“Yeah. It sounded vaguely interesting.”

He didn’t know if he wanted to be friends with Jason, but Jason obviously wanted to be friends with him, for some reason. And Will had vouched for him.

“Cool. Reyna’s here, too. She’s just running a bit late.”

Nico nodded., feeling a bit relieved. He knew he liked Reyna.

The class got quiet when a lady he assumed was the teacher walked in. Her posture and poise was perfect, and she commanded attention simply by existing. It was phenomenal.

But Nico was struck mostly by just how much she looked like Jason, particularly in the shocking blue of their eyes. He looked between the two of them, his mouth gaping blatantly.

“Hello, class.” Her voice was powerful and even, and brought Nico’s eyes to rest on her fully. “I am Elsa, queen of Arendel.”

Arendel? That was where Jason was from. Was this woman his mother? He’d meant to look up Jason’s family’s story over the break, but had simply forgotten.

“Many of you know me better as the Snow Queen.”

Nico sucked in a sharp breath. He could feel how the room had gone harshly silent around him.

“I’m what’s called an ‘almost’, which means that I almost brought ruin to a country, or that I unintentionally found myself in the role of antagonist. But I was saved by the love of my sister. It also means I brought a shade of grey to an otherwise black and white world. And that’s what I’ll be doing for the rest of your family’s stories.” She clasped her hands in front of her. “In this class we will be looking at the motivations and backgrounds of different villains and studying just what makes them who they are.”

Reyna walked in then and handed a note to Queen Elsa, breaking the spell she had them under.

The class broke out in excited chatter, the volume raising quickly.

Reyna took the seat beside Nico, giving Jason a soft smile. “Your aunt has the same charisma as ever.”

“Right?”

Jason’s aunt? Nico shook his head. Of course Jason’s aunt taught this class. Of course.

It was already his favourite, and it was taught by the ridiculously famous Snow Queen, who literally every child on the isle knew about, her image passed from one to another in barely audible whispers. She was proof that they could be more than their expected path of destruction. She was closer to a myth than a real person to them.

And she was Jason’s aunt.


	27. Care Package

When Nico returned to their room at the end of the second week back, he found WIll sitting on his bed, surrounded by a very uncharacteristic mess.

“What’s going on here?”

“Care package from mum and dad. You have one, too.” He pointed to Nico’s bed, which held a box that must have been at least two square feet.

“A what?”

“A care package.” He paused at Nico’s confused expression. “You know, a box filled with goodies like candy.”

His face fell when Nico showed no signs of understanding. “Did you not have care packages on the Isle?”

“We didn’t have much ‘care’ in general.”

“Well, my family cares. Open it up.”

Nico stood at the edge of his bed, staring at the box. His hands were limp at his sides, a heavy numb-like feeling up into his shoulders, like they were filled with water.

“Here, let me help.” Will grabbed a pair of scissors and went to his side, reaching over with them to Nico’s box.

A sudden flare of possessiveness flared up in inside him. He elbowed Will. “I can do it.” Having WIll open his first ever package seemed almost like giving up ownership of it, and he wanted this thing, desperately. It was making him a little dizzy.

He took the scissors and held them over the box, taking a deep breath to clear his head. His hands shook, and he was having trouble keeping the scissors steady.

Will touched his hand, stilling it. “Careful.”

Nico’s heart beat hard, and his face heated up. He nodded, unable to speak.

Will let go of his hand, moving back.

Nico opened his package, his heart picking up, his breath becoming quick and shallow. He felt like the world was speeding up.

The package was filled with coloured tissue paper. He pulled out a few pieces, examining them with wide eyes.

Will laughed. “Those are just filling, to make it look pretty.”

Nico looked to him, ready to snap that he knew that, but the look Will was giving him was so purely amused, all his annoyance fell away. He nodded, and reaching back in the box.

Everything in it was individually wrapped, with bows. He leant into the box to look around, standing on his toes, and heard a shutter-click.

He stood back up, looking at Will. “What was that?”

He wiggled his phone. “Pics for mum. She’ll want to see.”

Again Nico wanted to snap, but he knew Rapunzel would be super excited to get them, and would rush over to Flynn to show him. He turned back to the box and pulled out a square present.

He knew it was a book. He could feel the dent where the covers moved into pages, but a mystery still filled it, and he couldn’t help wondering if it really was a book. Which was ridiculous. Of course it was.

He opened it and found a notebook. And, though he was technically correct, he was still wrong in a way. He grinned at the small way she’d unintentionally tricked him.

Will snapped another picture.

When he finished, he’d received six journals, a set of really nice pens, three books, a butt-load of candy and snacks, and a stuffed bear. And Will had taken so many pictures he’d lost count.

He sat on the bed, staring at the carefully organised piles surrounding him.

What was happening with his life?

Will snapped one last picture, and sent them all to Rapunzel.

“Tell them…” Nico looked up at him, then back at all the stuff. “No.” He pulled out a new pen and one of his new notebooks. “I can do it.”

He was so engrossed in his thank you note, he didn’t notice Will smiling at him.


	28. What Makes a Villain?

Evil deconstructed continued to be Nico’s favourite class as the weeks passed. He was enthralled by Elsa’s voice and her speeches. And she had a way to shoot down every argument the goodies came up with. It was marvelous.

After three weeks of discussing various stories (including Nico’s own), they began to discuss what makes a villain different than a good guy.

One goodie said, “villains do bad things.”

“Yes, but why? And what are bad things?”

Jason raised his hand. “Bad things hurt people.”

“But does that mean everyone who hurts another person is bad?”

Jason blushed, and Nico was thrilled by how he’d got called out by his aunt.

Nico thought he was in love.

“Villains don’t feel bad for hurting others.”

“So you’ve felt bad for every single thing you’ve done that’s hurt another person, even when you were mad or jealous?”

“Villains can’t feel love.”

Nico froze, his body suddenly heavy, his ears ringing. No. That wasn’t right.

“Can’t feel love? So you’re saying Shan Yu didn’t feel any love for his people, or Frolo for his god?”

The class looked uncomfortable at the concept of this type of love.

“But their love is selfish and impersonal.”

“And what of Lady Tremaine and Robert Callaghan and their daughters?”

The room was silent, painfully uncomfortable. Everyone looked around at each other, trying to see if anyone else had answers.

A villain’s kid raised his hand, shaking. “What do you want us to say?”

“There’s no right answer when talking about people. That’s not what this class is about.” Elsa waited patiently while the class burst out in frustrated, confused mutters. When they began to quiet, she looked them all over slowly. “The point of this class is to make you think abstractly, and to make you think about people you’ve been taught to consider as ‘others’ as real, concrete beings. With this, we’re hoping to increase empathy and get rid of evil altogether.”

Slowly Nico raised his hand, catching Elsa’s attention. He’d refrained from interacting until then, and she was the only teacher who didn’t demand it.

“Yes, Nico?”

It took him a moment to speak as he picked through his vocabulary for the right words. “But, evil is a human emotion, isn’t it? One we’re all capable of?” Everyone stared at him, some in horror, all listening intently. He wanted to go back in time and erase his interaction. But it was too late now.

Reyna noticed his hesitance and nudged his foot with her own, shifting him out of his stupor.

“Is it really possible to get rid of an innate emotion in every single person?”

Elsa smiled slowly at him. “And that, students, is what we’re here to learn.” She turned from him to talk to the rest of the class, leaving him breathless.

In every other class he’d had, his teachers would just purse their lips and continue their lecture like he’d never spoken. This was the first time one had ever acknowledged his point, let alone complimented it.

Reyna put a hand on his shoulder briefly before turning back to the lesson.

He felt a swelling lightly in his chest, and a high that had his hands shaking. He recognised it as the moment that he first became interested in a class more for its content than its grade.


	29. Double Edged Sword

Will turned on the light, and Nico flinched, blinking rapidly to chase away the sudden flare of pain behind his eyes.

“What’s going on? You were in a great mood when I left.”

Nico pulled his blanket over his head and groaned, falling on his side.

“Nico.” Will sat on the edge of his bed. “What’s wrong?”

He waited patiently for Nico to speak, used to the long pauses before he spilt his guts.

Nico couldn’t look at him. He stared instead at the far post of his bed. “Someone in class yesterday… Someone said... “ He swallowed. “Someone said…”

Will put a hand on his shoulder. “Nico, it’s okay. Just tell me what happened.”

Nico sat up, pulling his knees to his chest. “Someone said that villains can’t feel real love for others. But that’s…”

“That’s what?”

He took a breath. “That’s not true. My father-” His voice caught.

“Your father loves you?” He was trying to be understanding, but Nico could hear the edge in his voice.

He shook his head. “Not me. But my mother. And sometimes my sister. But my mother; he was hopelessly devoted to her. He worshiped her. She was so kind and understanding and patient. She saw the good in everyone, even in him. And he was so in love with her, you could see it in the way he looked at her. Everyone could.” He realised he was smiling and buried the bottom of his face in his knees. “And, when she was around, he was better, nicer. When she was around, he even acted like…”

He swallowed away the wet feeling, only making it worse. There was a gurgling sound that bubbled up from his chest, into his throat. He clamped his mouth closed.

Will scooted closer to him so their hips were touching. “Like what, Nico?”

Nico took a deep breath through his nose. “Like he loved me, too.” His breath shook. “Whatever. She’s gone. It doesn’t matter anymore.”

He got up, but Will took his hand, making him freeze, one leg still on the bed.

“It does matter, Nico.” Will gently guided him so he was sitting back down, staring at the floor. “How your parents treat you always matters. It never stops mattering.” He wrapped his arms around Nico. “How you’re treated as a kid and the love you receive shapes who you’ll be.”

Nico tasted blood. He forced himself to relax and ran his tongue over the cut on the inside of his lip.

“I’m sorry I never got to meet your mum. I think she must have been something great to help someone as wonderful as you come out of so much adversity.”

Nico took a deep breath in sync with Will’s.

“I…” He wasn’t sure what he wanted to say. “Thanks.”

“Nothing to thank me for.” He kissed the top of Nico’s head. “Let’s go get some food.”

Nico nodded and followed him out of the room, in a sort of daze. The world around him was in a bit of a fog, except for Will’s crisp figure beside him. He followed that to figure out where he was going.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm having a really bad writers block right now. I know where I want to go, but I'm having some trouble getting there. So I might take a bit to get the next chapter out.


	30. Family Picnic

It seemed like barely a week had passed in the new semester when the family picnic came around, contrary to the way his life usually seemed to slurge on, never moving faster than a half a mile an hour.

The entire school was in a frenzie. The goodies were all excited to see their parents, and show off their good grades and sports; and the villains were all dreading seeing the people their parents terrorised.

Rapunzel and Flynn would be there.

Nico stuck close to Will, which he didn’t seem to mind at all. All morning he followed him around as they set things up.

The parents started showing up around noon, while Nico was holding the welcome banner, Will on the other side. He looked over every time someone new drove up, his heart skipping.

“Can you raise it a few inches? Nico?” Will looked to him. “Nico?”

He jumped, dropping his side of the banner. “Shoot.”

Will watched him get it, grinning. “You’re uncharacteristically excited about this.”

Nico blushed, biting the inside of his cheek. “Let’s just get this banner set up so we can be finished.”

“Right. Of course. Anything you say.”

They got some food when they finished, eating it at a picnic table under the shade of a tree.

It had to be magic that made this place so warm and sunny all year round. It certainly wasn’t like that on the Isle. It should be snowing right about now, chilling everyone to the bone. No one could afford a heater, so they would all be wrapped in thin blankets around a fire. Hazel must be freezing.

He felt a slap of guilt for being so warm while she was still stuck on the isle.

“Hey, what’s wrong?”

Nico shook his head. “It’s nothing.” He looked around again. “When did they say they’d get here?”

“Around one.” Will checked his watch. “They should be here soon.”

Nico began to tap his fingers, looking at every person who passed by. He saw lots of people he knew, and lots he didn’t. It was a bit of a shock to see just how many people existed outside of the Isle. He knew there were billions in the same way he knew that there were trillions of books in  the world, but seeing them was like walking into a library that was fifty stories tall. Suddenly it was real

And these were just the people with family in this school.

“Oh, there they are?”

Nico stood up, his hips hitting the table and knocking him back down. He carefully scooted out, hoping no one saw. He looked up at Will, who was covering his mouth, his face red.

“Shut up.’

“Didn’t say anything.”

Nico elbowed him. “Can we just go?”

His skin tingled as his heart went crazy. It had only been a month, but he’d missed Will’s parents almost as much as he missed his own family.

Rapunzel greeted him by kissing his cheek. “It’s good to see you two again.” She kissed Will. “How have you two been?”

Will went off on a string of stories, saving Nico from having to answer.

It was nice.

It was familiar.

Nico tucked his chin into his chest to hide his smile as he thought about how his entire summer would be like this.

“Hey Will, Nico.” Jason came over to them, grinning.

Nico swallowed away the sense that he was ruining the careful atmosphere of their small group. It was Will’s family, after all, not his. He didn’t own them.

“Nico, these are my parents.”

He motion toward them, and Nico gave them a polite nod, hoping that they wouldn’t make a huge fuss.

Jason’s mum (Anna?) went to rush forward, making Nico’s chest clutch. He leant back, tensing his shoulders and preparing for a hug.

Jason’s father (Christopher? No, that wasn’t it. What was it?) put a hand on Anna’s shoulder, and she stopped and looked up at him, exchanging a look with him. He turned to Nico and smiled. “Good to meet you.”

Anna gave Nico a grin and held out her hand for him to shake.

He took it, glancing at Jason, who was beaming at them. “Um, yeah. You too.”

He thought that Jason looked more like his aunt then either of them, but his dad did explain his height and broad shoulders.

Apparently Jason’s and Will’s families were well acquainted with each other. They talked and laughed and hugged.

Nico felt a coldness creep into his skin, giving him goosebumps. He was not a part of this world. It had existed before him, and it would exist after him. He was barely touching the edge.

He took a step back, looking around. There were so many groups of people, so many smiling families. He took a breath to steady himself, making himself dizzy instead. All of the voices around them got louder, all speaking at once, buzzing wordlessly. He clenched his jaw, holding his breath, trying to shut them out.

Don’t make a scene. Don’t make a scene.

Someone touched his shoulder, making him jump. His head reeled as he took a sudden breath.

“Are you okay?”

Nico nodded, looking to them. It was Mal and Ben, but why were they at the picnic?

Mal gestured toward Will’s and Jason’s families. Evie had made her way to their inner circle.

Oh, right.

“Come with me, there’s someone I want to introduce you to.”

Nico wanted to protest, but Mal was already dragging him away by the wrist. He looked back to Will to see that he hadn’t even noticed Nico leave.

He bit his lip and turned back to Mal.

Nico recognised the people that she was headed for, and he wanted to run. Adam and Belle, previous King and Queen of Auridon, and Ben’s parents. He pulled lightly on his wrist.

“Mum, dad.” Ben nodded to them. “This is Nico.”

Belle was friendly enough, shaking his hand and giving him a smile, but Nico got the impression that Adam didn’t like him too much. He nodded to him, and raised a brow at Ben.

Mal stepped in. “Nico’s a writer.”

“Oh.” Belle squared herself toward him. “What sort of things do you write?”

The two of them managed a pleasant conversation for the next fifteen minutes. Belle was obviously aware of the fact that he was a villains kid, and was a little uncomfortable by the fact, but conversing about books seemed vastly more important to her. And Nico liked having someone close to his literary level to talk with.

“Nico, there you are.” Will jogged up to him. “When I turned around, you were gone.” He touched Nico’s arm before turning to Belle and giving her a small nod. “Hello, Ma’am.”

“Good afternoon, Willian. Is Nico with you?”

“Yes, he’s my buddy.”

“He’s a good one.”

Nico blushed, looking down.

“Yeah. Everyone really likes him.”

That was a grotesque exaggeration, but Nico didn’t want to contradict him in front of Belle.

“Are you ready to go?” Will touched his arm again. “Mum’s wondering where you went.”

“Yeah.” He turned back to Belle. “It was nice talking to you.”

She nodded to him before turning back to her own family.

“Come on.” Will took his hand, making his breath hitch, and dragged him back to his family, now including Elsa. “Found him.”

“Nico.” Rapunzel took his other hand and kissed his cheek, Will letting him go. “I was wondering where you went.”

“Nico.”

He nodded. “Elsa, hello.”

She turned her attention back to Rapunzel. “Nico’s in my deconstructing villains class. He’s one of my brightest students.”

He felt like he couldn’t breathe. He stared at Elsa with wide eyes.

“Oh really?” Rapunzel grinned at her.

“Yes. He has a natural understanding of, and empathy for other people. He doesn’t speak much, but when he does it’s always well thought out and insightful. We’ve had several discussions in class that we wouldn’t have had without him.”

Rapunzel squeezed his hand. He knew he’d wind up in tears before the day was over.

“Professor Maryweather is even talking to Fairy Godmother about adding a new class because of our report.” Jason put an arm around his shoulder. “History of Villainy.”

Nico looked at him. It felt like his head was moving faster than the world. “What? You mean we didn’t fail?”

Jason furrowed his brow at him. “What are you talking about? We aced it. Didn’t you look at your grades?”

He shook his head. He was so positive he’d failed that he didn’t bother.

“Yeah, we got the highest grade in the class.”

He would have stumbled back if not for Jason’s arm.

Elsa gave him a smile. “Maryweather has spoken to me about teaching it next semester. I hope you intend to sign up.”

This wasn’t really happening. He had to be dreaming. But Nico always knew when he was dreaming, and they were never this good.

He nodded, at a loss for words.

“Wonderful.”

Rapunzel leant into Nico’s side, and he noticed for the first time that they were the exact same height. “I’m so proud of you.”

There came the tears.


	31. Group Assignment

Deconstructing Evil had its first project mid-April. It was the only class that gave them the option of working alone or in a group. Nico decided he would try to sign up for one of Elsa’s classes every semester.

Nico still wound up working with Jason and Reyna, somehow.

They had to pick a villain and write up a report about why they did what they did, and lead a class discussion on it, which Jason already volunteered to do.

Most villain’s kids chose their parents, which meant that there was at least one in every group. Nico’s group had Hades, obviously.

He looked around during their allotted group work time at the end of each class, seeing villains and goodies getting along better than he’d ever seen outside of class. It was fascinating.

Nico provided most of the information for their project, both for obvious reasons and because it turned out he somehow had the best grade out of all of them. Reyna, who was the most organised, took the notes and wrote up the report. Jason filled in the blanks and made their daily work log. It wound up working out really well, better than any of his groups all year.

He also wound up hanging out with them outside of class. They went to various clubs that the two of them were in, and ate lunch or dinner together. Reyna took him to a couple cafe’s she frequented, avoiding Silena’s. And Jason was very careful to never invite Nico along when Percy would be there, which turned out to not be that often.

He was having the time of his life.

The only downside was that he wasn’t able to spend much time with Will. They spent one, maybe two days together a week.

Will assured him repeatedly that he was glad Nico had made other friends, and Nico had convinced himself Will was fine with it. And it sucked.

He tried to invite Will along, but he always seemed to be busy, and Nico thought he’d been keeping him for his other friends, and that felt awful.

So Nico left him alone most days.

Soon they were only interacting when they were both in the same room together, and Nico felt like crud, and a dull pain was eating it’s way through his ribcage.

But Will seemed completely fine, even happy. So Nico put on his best happy face and let Will have his own life. They still had this summer, right?


	32. Distance

By mid-May Nico and Will were barely speaking. The only interaction they had was when Will helped him with his good homework, which consisted entirely of Nico asking a question, and Will answering.

Nico felt like his insides were burning. They might actually be doing just that. It wouldn’t be the first time something like that happened.

He missed Will. And he acknowledged that it was a ridiculous feeling, missing someone who lived in the same room as him, but he couldn’t explain it. There seemed to be an empty spot where Will slept.

But Nico was determined not to pull him away from his other friends. He’d had a monopoly on Will all of first semester. And he wasn’t struggling like he’d been before. With Jason and Reyna around, living in goods world was almost easy.

And he didn’t exactly have much time to spare with only three weeks of school left. He was focused on passing his classes, glad to have his friends around to help him, since he was struggling with most of them.

Friends…

Did that still include Will?


	33. Couple of Idiots

Nico was startled awake by Evie bursting into their room at six am the second to last Friday of school and demanded she take their measurements for their Grand Ball outfits.

Nico groaned, covering his head with a pillow. He could sleep through the sunlight as long as he was asleep before it came. Now that he was awake - at six in the morning on a day off - he was awake for good.

“Evie, the ball’s tomorrow. Why did you wait this long?”

“I was making my dress. And two suits shouldn’t take too long.”

Nico peaked out at them. “No thanks.”

Evie gave him a smile and started to measure Will’s torso. “Then what will you wear tomorrow? Nothing I made you before can be considered ‘formal’.”

“Nothing.”

“Well, you’ll look awfully funny. I don’t think the teachers would approve, though. They might not let you in.”

There was an involuntary growl deep in Nico’s throat. “I mean I’m not going.”

“You have to go!”

Nico jumped. He sat up to look at Will. “What?”

“You promised you would go. You promised back in October.” Will looked furious, like he was ready to leap across the room and strangle Nico. It was worse than over break.

It scared him.

“I’ve been giving you space all semester so you can spend time with your new friends, trying not to bother you, we barely speak anymore, half the time I don’t even know if we’re friends. And now you’re breaking your promise, the one promise you made me?”

Will’s face was red, his shoulders tense, his hands gripped and shaking, lifted to his waist like he was ready to start swinging.

Nico couldn’t think for a moment, his jaw clicking as he tried to force something out. “You-” His voice cracked. “You’ve been giving me space?”

“Well duh.”

Nico clenched his jaw shut. “No. I’ve been giving you space, you idiot!”

“What are you talking about?” Will took a step toward him, and Nico stood on his knees, puffing out his chest. “You’ve been spending all your time with Jason and Reyna.”

“Because you’ve been spending all your time with your other friends.”

“Because you’ve been spending all of your time with Jason and Reyna!”

“So I can give you space!”

The two of them glared at each other, chests heaving.

Nico’s body felt hot, his skin tingling. He held his breath, trying to calm himself, get his pulse back to normal. The last thing he needed was to get too emotional.

Will’s arms flexed, and his expression faltered when Nico glanced at them.

“So then-” Nico’s voice broke and he let out his breath in a rush. “Why are we fighting?”

Will leant back, looking like he might faint before reeling back on Nico, his face flush. “Because you’re breaking your promise. You promised!”

“Because I thought you didn’t want to be around me!”

Will looked down his nose at Nico, his chin jut out, “So are you going then, now that you know that’s not true?”

The question surprised Nico, who’s mind hadn’t caught up with the conversation yet. Will didn’t not want him around? Did that mean he did want Nico around?

“Fine.”

“You’ll go?”

“Yes, I’ll go.”

“Good.” Will turned back to Evie, keeping his eyes on Nico for another moment, still scowling.

When his back was turned, and Nico was sure he couldn’t see him, he smiled.

Evie locked eyes with him, giving him a smirk, her eyebrows raised.

His face went hot and he looked away. He had to keep an eye on her. She was far too understanding.


	34. The Ball, part one

Evie smoothed out Nico’s shirt, pulling lightly here and there, muttering to herself in broken thoughts. “Your chest is smaller than I realised. Maybe if you stand up straight.”

Nico scowled. “I look fine. I’m not a model, and it’s just a party.”

“Never miss a chance to look your best, you never know who’s looking.” She smirked at him.

He bit the inside of his cheek, turning to look out the window. “We’re going to be late.”

“Will, darling, are you finished?”

“Just a sec, I can’t get these suspenders on right.” Will hit a wall with a thump, making Evie laugh.

“Come out here, I’ll do it for you.”

Will walked out from the bathroom, looking like he was glowing in the soft yellows and oranges that seemed to be made especially for him. He gave Nico a shy smile, looking down. ”I’m not really the fancy dress type.”

Nico blinked. “I can tell. You tied your tie wrong.”

Will looked down. “Oops.”

“I’ll fix it.”

Nico undid Will’s tie, having to unknot it, glad for once that he had thin fingers. He felt Will’s breath on the back of his neck as he leant into the tie, concentrating on it.

He looked up at Will as he finished, fully aware of how close he stood, but feeling a sense of surprise anyway, his heart skipping in a way that was painful.

“Thanks.” His breath brushing Nico’s face.

“No problem.”

Evie cleared her throat, making both of them jump.

Nico was breathless for a moment, his ears burning. He covered them with both hands, letting out a thick sigh.

“Shall we go?” She held Will’s jacket out to him.

“Yeah.” Will’s voice was breathy. He gave Nico a smile. “Ready?”

“Just been waiting on you.”

“Right.” He slipped his jacket over his shoulder, holding it there with two fingers, giving Nico another glance. “Let’s go.”

He led the way out with long strides, Evie following after him with a smirk and a bounce to her step.

Nico leant against a wall, the heel of his palm pressed into his chest as he tried to calm down.

Was this really happening? He wasn’t misreading the signs, was he? Not again.

Evie called to him, making him jump. He swallowed to even out his voice. “Coming.” He straightened his back and pushed off the wall to follow them, a grin pulling at the corners of his lips.

He thought he might just let it this time. He could be happy for a while. He could let himself enjoy this.


	35. The Ball, part two

Jason found Nico's small group as soon as they walked through the door, pulling him into a hug. "I thought you weren't coming." He leant into Nico to whisper in his ear. "Percy's here. I can keep you two separated If you want."

Nico's heart skipped, and he was surprised to find it wasn't as painful as it was the previous semester. In fact, he realised it had been hurting gradually less as time went on, so slow he'd never picked up on it before then.

When had that started? When had the very thought of Percy not torn at his chest like a hand digging around inside him, ripping every rib apart so slowly he'd never even managed to numb himself?

It still hurt, like the itch of an almost healed cut. He could pick at it and reopen it like he had so many times before. Because loving Percy was a familiar hurt, a safe hurt. He knew that. If he stopped loving Percy, he could fall for someone else. If Percy didn't fill every nook and cranny of his heart, then someone else could get in, and that person could hurt him in a new way.

But he could let it heal. He could ignore it, keep fidgeting hands busy with something else and let it pass. Then he could go out and play with the other kids again.

He could stop loving Percy. And for the first time that didn't send a chill into his soul.

He shook his head. "I'm fine."

Jason nodded. He let Nico go before turning to say hello to another person who walked in.

Nico grabbed his sleeve. "Thanks."

Jason grinned at him, his teeth too white, an awkward blush that spread out from his nose reached his brow. He looked like he wanted to hug Nico again, but instead he moved on to his other friends.

Will slipped in beside him, a heavy, warm presence that Nico could pick out with his eyes closed. "What was that about?"

Nico shrugged, flushed with guilt. "Just Jason being Jason."

Will shifted his weight and their arms touched.

Nico felt a shock that urged him to move, but he was paralysed for a moment. When it passed, his fingers tingling, the moment had dragged, and they were still touching. But by then Nico's moving would have been too awkward. So they just stood there, arms pressed together, couples around them dancing far too close together.

He thought to ask Will to dance, his mouth opening, his breath catching with a gasp. He felt warm.

A girl Nico didn't know rushed up to them, locked arms with Will, and whisked him away.

Nico tried not to let the feeling that he'd missed his only chance overwhelm him. There were still four hours of the ball left. He'd have another chance.


	36. The Ball, part three

Nico found Reyna looking terrifyingly beautiful in her bold dress. Every boy in the courtyard seemed to be in awe of her confident posture and defined muscles, yet too intimidated to approach her.

Nico was a bit jealous. His muscles were nothing to scoff at, but living in the Underworld wasn't exactly the workout the African jungles were.

"Wanna dance?"

She had some moment of surprise before she saw Nico, then gave him a smile. "Sure. Not like anyone else is asking me."

They didn't blend into the crowd the way he'd wanted to. As the son of the Lord of the Dead, Nico scared people even when he didn't try to. And dancing with Reyna, most people avoided them.

But one good thing did come from it; it made Reyna slightly more approachable, to know that she wasn't a particularly good dancer. And after dancing with Frank, who was just as bad, she was practically swarmed with partners.

With a smile that still felt a little foreign on his face, Nico left her to her own devices.

He ran into Annabeth, standing at one corner of the refreshment table, jilted by his proximity to her. He'd never missed her, not since he was eleven when he realised Percy liked her. Every since then she'd been a constant reminder of his hopeless love, a source of pain.

Yet now he'd stood only three feet from her, completely unaware., 

She looked at him and smiled.

Nico thought to run away. But he found the urge was only minor, so instead he tried saying hello.

"It's good to see you're doing so well." She handed him a cupcake, probably meant for Percy, which he accepted. "Every time I saw you in the halls you looked upset. I was worried."

Nico actually smiled with appreciation. "Yeah. I think I found a place where I fit in."

"Good. I'm glad. You deserve to be happy."

Nico couldn't explain why, or why Annabeth of all people would be the first person he would ever speak the words to, but he just spit out, "I was in love with your boyfriend," like word vomit. And right after he thought he might actually vomit.

She stared at him with wide eyes, leaning just a little away from him. "Oh."

His mouth fell open, a flush reaching down his shoulders. The music and noise around them was an uncomfortable blur. Had someone spiked the cupcake batter with a truth potion?

"Okay."

He blinked at her, barely even capable of that little movement. "Okay?" His voice squeaked.

She shrugged. "Yeah. I mean, I thought you liked me, but I guess this makes more sense now that I think about it." She twisted the cup in her hands. "Does this mean you and Will...?"

His mouth felt dry. "No. Yes? You mean, you aren't mad?"

"Why would I be mad?"

"I just- I mean- He's your boyfriend."

A smile pulled at one side of her mouth. "I'd be mad if he cheated on me with you, or hurt if he left me for you. But I'm not going to get upset at you for liking someone. You can't help that."

Nico's eyes watered. He turned away from Annabeth.

She put an arm around his shoulder, giving it a squeeze. "You wanna dance? Percy's busy and I really wanna dance."

He laughed, wiping his tears away. "Sure."

"Great. Let's go."

Nico spent the rest of the night talking and dancing, genuinely surprised at how much fun he was having.

He never did get to dance with Will, but he was okay with that. He was sure he would get the chance to do so another time. Maybe next year. Maybe sooner. But there was a brightness in him that wasn't there before. His Percy scab was healing, and he was okay with it.

And he never would have been able to get there without Will.


	37. The Ball, part four

Will was laughing so hard at the energy he felt by the end of the night that Nico had to half carry him back to their room, Will's arm slung around his shoulder.

Nico had never seen him like this. Because of how Nico was, the two of them had only ever been around two other people at any given time. To see Will so people drunk was a bit intoxicating. It made him grin wider than he was used to.

"All right." Nico unlocked the door with some difficulty. "Stop giggling, you dork. You're making this harder than it has to be."

"Let me help." Will put his hand over Nico's on the door knob.

Nico's heart skipped, sending an uncomfortable rush if heat up the back of his neck, creating a painful spot at the base of his skull.

Will snorted. "We grabbed it at the same time."

"I grabbed it before you." He swung it open, dragging Will inside. "Now calm down or someone's gonna think you're really drunk."

"I can't be. There's a magical detector on the school that alerts the teachers when someone brings alcohol onto campus. They wouldn't get it past the front doors."

Nico flopped him onto the bed where he burst into another round of giggles. "Hold still, I need to take your shoes off."

"Look at you, being all care taker-y."

"Is that even a word?" Nico slipped Will's shoes off without untying them, and tossed them aside haphazardly.

"Why not? It can be my word. You can use it in a book. I give permission."

Nico smiled at him. "Thanks for that."

Will pushed himself up so he was leaning on his elbows. "I told you you'd like the Grand Ball."

Nico shrugged. "I didn't like the crowd, or the dancing, and the music was awful."

Will's smile faded, and Nico could see in his eyes how he sobered just slightly.

"But I enjoyed seeing everyone. And I danced with Annabeth."

"You danced with Annabeth?"

Nico's stomach tumbled at the way Will sounded. He could just be worried, but he sounded a little jealous.

"Yeah. I ran into her, and we cleared the air between us." His expression softened. "It was nice. And I feel a lot better now."

Will nodded. "Good. I hated seeing the way you shut down every time you saw her."

Nico pulled a leg up onto the bed, turning to Will. "You worry too much about me."

All the humour left his face, and Nico's body ached. He wanted to reach inside Will and pull it back out.

"That's because it's all I can do." His voice was quiet, closer to a breath than real talking. "It's all I can do for anyone."

Nico put a hand on Will's forehead. "It's all anyone really needs." He brushed his hands into his hair, and Will closed his eyes. "This school is full of heroes and damsels. But you're something special. You're the only one that can heal people."

Will put his hands over Nico's and gripped it. His jaw clenched. "Thank you." He took a shaking breath.

Nico kicked his own shoes off and laid down next to Will, their arms touching. "You know, you don't have to hide from me, right? You're allowed to be unsure and self-conscious. You're not an unattainable god."

There was a beat before Will sat up so suddenly it made Nico flinch. "I forgot to take a picture of us for mum." He crawled over Nico to get his phone.

Nico sat up and grabbed his hand. "Will."

He stopped, keeping his back to Nico.

"I mean it. You're human, same as me. It's okay to be imperfect. It makes you better. I feel-" He swallowed away the lump in his throat, his heart pounding, his hand shaking. He looked down. "I feel closer to you like this."

Will brushed at his eye and turned back to Nico, grinning. But it was off, perverted by pain he couldn't quite bury. He held up his phone. "Let's take this picture before we ruin our clothes and hair even more."

He pulled his hand from Nico's, and the action left him breathless. He felt like he'd fallen from a tree and had the wind knocked out of him, replaced with the pain of landing roughly on his back.

Will's expression faltered at the hurt he saw, but he picked it back up, looking even more strained. He sat beside Nico, putting his arm around his shoulder and holding the camera out. "Smile."

Nico sighed and did his best to look happy for Rapunzel.

After Will took the picture and examined it, pointedly avoiding looking at him, Nico turned to stare directly at him. "I mean it, Will." He held his breath as he reached out and gently moved the phone down so it was sitting on his lap. "I understand what it's like to feel inadequate. And I'm here if you want to talk. Even if all I can do is listen, I'm here."

Will stared blankly at the spot where his phone had been, his smile still there, but empty.

"I mean it."

Will nodded slowly. "Okay."

Nico squeezed his hand. "You should sleep."

He started to get off the bed, but caught the way Will's eyes flickered to him before he looked away again.

He bit the inside his cheek and stripped off his jacket and vest. "Scoot over."

Will finally looked at him. "What?"

"Don't ask questions." Nico nudged him.

He did as he was bid, and Nico climbed back in beside him, pulling Will's covers up over the both of them.

"You're sleeping here?"

Nico's face was red. "You're too upset to be left alone right now." He flopped back, covering his eyes with an arm. "Now let's get to sleep. I'm completely drained from all those people."

He waited for Will to kick him out, his breath painful, his pulse cold.

He felt Will shuffle as he stripped his own outer layers and curled up on his side next to Nico.

Nico let out a slow breath, his chest still tight, and turned the bedside table light off. He curled up on his side, facing Will, their faces only inches apart. He could feel Will's warm breath too quick on his lips.

"Nico?"

"Yeah?" His voice was as quiet as Will's.

"Thanks." He reached out and wrapped his first two fingers around Nico's middle two under the blanket.

"Yeah."

Nico closed his eyes, but he didn't fall asleep, and neither did Will.


	38. Morning

Waking up next to Will was an odd experience. It had happened before, a few times, after Nico had his panics, but he'd always woken with a headache and aching eyes. And Will had always been awake before him.

But Will was curled into him, his leg tangled between Nico's, his head tucked under Nico's chin, his breath blowing under the collar of Nico's shirt. He held Nico's hands to his chest so Nico could feel his heartbeat.

He took the moment to feel Will next to him, trusting him, relying on Nico the way Nico had done so many times. There was a sensitivity to Will that Nico had never felt before, and he breathed him in.

He hadn't even realised how wide the divide between them was before then. Nico trusted Will more than anyone else alive, but Will hadn't even trusted Nico enough to cry.

He shifted in Nico's arms, making his breath hitch. Will turned his head up to look at him, his eyes still a bit puffy.

He smiled brightly, unobstructed by any caution. It was beautiful, and it made Nico's heart beat hard.

He watched as Will slowly came to, furowing his brows and looking around. "We're in my bed."

"We are."

He pushed himself up on an elbow, taking a deep breath his chest rising under his ruffled shirt. The blanket fell down to his waist, his shirt riding up to his chest. Nico's eyes flickered to his skin, then back to his face.

" 'M hungry."

Nico's lip twitched at the corner. "We should get breakfast." He looked to the bedside clock. 10:30. They still had a half hour before they started clearing things out for lunch.

Will hummed, falling back down, making the bed bounce. He took another breath, then sat up, tossing the blankets away. "Let's go."

Nico got out of his way, turning to his basket of clean clothes while Will changed.

As soon as they were both ready, Nico led the way out the door.

Will caught his hand, making him jump. "Nico?"

He turned around to face him, his chest warm, and raised his brows. He couldn't breathe enough to speak.

"Thank you. I have difficulty showing weakness to people." He let out a breathy laugh, his expression twisted. "Obviously. But you didn't leave me, even when I tried to convince you I was fine."

"It would have been sort of hypocritical of me, don't you think?"

Will gave him a tight lipped smile. "It would have been normal of you, actually."

Nico opened his mouth to say something, but had no response.

Oh.

Will looked to the floor. "Let's get some breakfast."

He let go of Nico's hand as he passed him, but Nico's hand followed his in a fluid motion before he let him go.

He stood there for half a second, watching Will's back before following.

He wanted to be there for Will for the rest of forever. If he could...


	39. Percy

In the cafeteria Nico was jarred by the sound of laughter. He looked up to see a group of people, Percy among them.

He couldn't look away as his chest gripped, but not as bad as the last time they'd run into each other in the hall. He could still breathe.

Annabeth saw him and waved, and he waved back.

She saw it, somehow, the way Annabeth always did. In his eyes, or his lips, OR the set of his jaw, he didn't know. But she saw. And she tapped Percy's arm and pointed to him.

Percy excused himself from his group and made his way over with a smile.

"Nico?"

Will's voice made him jump. "I'll be right back." He kept his eyes on Percy as he surged to meet him in the middle, grabbing the fabric of his sleeve, and dragging him toward the courtyard. "I have to talk to you."

Percy complained and questioned him as they went until they found an empty spot behind some bleachers surrounding the tourney field.

Nico refused to answer him, his jaw clamped shut, straining the tendons in his neck. He looked around one last time before turning to face Percy, his hand still fisted in his shirt.

And he realised he had no idea how to do this. Did he just say it? Could he? What if Percy responded badly? Would it even matter? Annabeth thought it would be fine, and she would be the one to know. She wouldn't set this up if she weren't sure.

"Nico, what's wrong?"

"I like you."

Percy blinked at him, no sign of comprehension on his face. "Okay?"

"Well no. Not like. Liked. I liked you. For a while." He ran his tongue over the roof of his mouth. "But I don't anymore, not really. Not anymore. I just..."

He slowly let go of Percy's shirt and lowered his hand to his side. "I just wanted to- had to tell you. To clear the air. To tell you."

Percy stared at him for another moment before holding a hand up. "Wait a minute." He touched the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes tight. "Wait. You mean, you liked me?"

"Yeah." Nico looked down. Apparently it did matter how he reacted.

"Like, romantically?"

Nico nodded.

"Okay, wow. Just- just give me a moment. I need to process this."

He waited, not moving, his jaw hurting, while Percy fidgeted, trying to sort through this new development.

Finally Percy took a deep breath. "Okay, I think I get it now."

Nico slowly looked up at him, his neck stiff. He held his breath as he waited for some sort of reply.

"So this is why you've been avoiding me all year?"

"Yes."

Percy looked frustrated, his brow knotted together. "Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"Um." Nico hadn't expected that question. "What is wrong with you," maybe. "Why me," seemed like something Percy would wonder.

"Did you think I would hate you?"

Nico paled. He nodded slowly, once.

Percy shot him a glare. "How could you think that?"

"Because- because you did before, before you left for school, after my dad-" His throat constricted. "After my dad tried to make that deal with you."

Percy sighed loudly. "I didn't hate you. I mean, I was mad, but I got over it, after Annabeth made me sit down and think about it rationally. But that and this are two different things. Nico, I would never hate you for liking me. And it hurts that you'd think so low of me."

Nico gaped at him. "I'm sorry. I didn't think..."

"No, it's fine. Just-" Percy stuffed his hands in his pockets. "If there's something that you need to talk to me about I'm the future, talk to me about it, okay? Get my opinion before you decide I'm some jerk."

Nico nodded, his arms weak. He wasn't sure what he felt. Disappointment? Had he wanted Percy to suddenly profess his own love for him? No. But then what?

"Good." Percy looked around. "Are you okay to head back?"

Nico nodded. "Give me a sec. I just-" He reached out to lean against the bleachers, but missed, stumbling. Percy caught him, making his heart skip, but it was noticeably less than twenty minutes ago. "I just need a sec. I've been sitting on that for four years."

"Four years? But we've only known each other four-and-a-half."

"Yeah."

Percy laughed. "Wow. What a day."

Nico hummed. "Yeah."

They left as soon as Nico could walk on his own, Percy's arm around his shoulder. Apparently they were friends now.

Will and Annabeth were waiting for them at the courtyard entrance to the school.

"Hey, Nico. Are you and Will together?"

Nico smiled. "No, not yet."

He knew Percy was grinning. He gripped Nico's shoulders in some sort of hug. "Well, let me know when you are."

Annabeth caught sight of them and waved, a knowing smile on her face.

They both waved back.

Will ran to meet them, and Percy let Nico go.

"I'll see you later, Neeks."

"Yeah." He turned to Will. "Sorry for missing breakfast."

"It's fine." He stalled, starting at Nico, biting his lip. "Are you okay?"

Nico looked to Percy, his arm slipping around Annabeth's waist, leaning down to kiss her. He smiled. "Yeah. Great, actually." He turned back to Will, feeling warm at the sight of him. "Wanna get lunch?"


	40. Graduation

Evie's graduation was on the last Saturday of the year, right before finals. Nico was more than a little jealous that the seniors didn't have to take them, his good final only three days away.

It was also Percy's and Annabeth's graduation, so everyone he knew was there, and they all decided to get together for one big, oversized party that made Nico feel suffocated.

"But in a good way, right?"

He shot a glare at Leo. "There's a good way to feel suffocated now?"

Will leant into him, their shoulders touching. "Do you want to go?"

Nico shrugged with his other shoulder. "It's okay. This is Evie's going away party. I'd feel awful if we left early."

"It's okay. She's been distracted for the last hour. She won't mind."

Nico struggled with himself for a moment longer before someone laughed very loudly, and very suddenly, making him jump. "Yes, I would like to go."

"All right." Will led the way, waving to the few people who noticed them leaving.

"I can't believe the year's almost over." Will looked up at the sky as they walked, taking a deep breath of the night air. "It went by so fast."

Nico hummed. School used to drag for him. But this year almost seemed like a dream. He kept expecting to wake up in the Underworld.

They were quiet as they walked. It was comfortable, being together. Nico had never felt comfortable being silent with someone before, just existing near them. But he and Will had come so far together.

Will let him into their room first, closing it behind him.

He sat beside Nico on his bed, leaning back back on his arms. "You know, I'm glad we got paired together." He grinned. "Like fate."

Nico chuckled. "I thought it was more of a cruel joke at first."

Will made a mock offended sound. "Are you implying that being paired with me was not the obvious choice?"

"No, I'm saying that that's exactly the case."

Will looked to him, grinning, all good natured humour. "Well, it all worked out perfectly, so it's okay."

Nico leant into him, kissing him, a barely there brush of lips. His heart beat frantically, his ears and neck hot, his breath shallow.

When he leant back, looking to Will, he found him staring back, his eyes wide and face red.

Nico bit his lip and waited, the ghost of Will still on it.

Will stood up, taking a step back. "Oh god."

Nico's body went cold. "Will?"

"Oh god. Nico. We can't."

Nico's world dropped out from under him. He couldn't breathe, his body going numb. "What?"

Will's back hit the door. "This - us - boys, it's not something that happens in my world. It's not-" His voice caught.

Nico's ears rang. "I don't understand."

Will looked away. "I'm sorry."

"What?" Nico's body felt limp. His eyes and throat burned. "You mean you don't...?"

"I can't. I'm sorry."

"Can't?"

Will took a breath and looked at him. "In goods world, it has to be a boy and a girl."

"What? Why?"

"It just does."

Nico looked at his lap, his hands rested on it, fingers curled palms up. "So you're rejecting me? But I thought-" A sudden sob ripped through him as the reality of what was happening hit him.

It didn't happen in goods world because it was a thing only villains did.

How Nico felt was wrong in good’s world. Who he was was wrong.

Nico would never belong here.

"I'm so stupid!" He pushed the heels of his palms into his eye, curling into himself. "I should have- I shouldn't-"

"You didn't do anything wrong."

Will touched his shoulder, but he tore himself away.

"Nico."

"I have to go."

He vanished, shadows surrounding him, a sickening rush of wind crushing him.

He'd assumed he deserved to be happy, to be with someone. And for that he was being punished.

* * *

Nico noticed as he landed, stumbling and falling, hitting his elbow, that his hair was one fire. He used his other hand to pat it out, trying to calm his breathing.

He took long, loud gasps through his harsh sobs, rubbing at his elbow to get rid of the sting. He looked around, trying to figure out where he was. It had been over a year since he’d shadow traveled, and he didn’t have a destination in mind aside from “away from Will”.

He was outside, he could tell that much, but nothing else. He couldn’t breathe, and his vision was going blurry.

He curled into himself as his stomach contracted, squeezing itself dry. Cries forced their way from his lungs like bile.

This was what he got for his hubris. He reached too far, thinking he belonged here. He should have known better. He would never belong anywhere. His father had warned him, but Nico had been so sure he was lying. But it was true.

Someone touched his shoulder and a spasm went through him. He didn’t want to see Will.

It was Ben. He realised he’d actually wanted it to be Will.

“Are you okay?”

He tried to stop crying. He didn’t want Ben to see him cry. His breaths turned into hyperventilation. His head began to feel light.

“Hey. Don’t do that.”

Ben wrapped an arm around Nico’s chest and hoisted him up. “Let’s get you inside.”

He gave the illusion of letting Nico walk, but carried nearly his entire weight.

Nico couldn’t have fought him. He couldn’t breathe, his body shaking, his vision going dark.

Ben brought him to a room with a single bed, wardrobe, and desk. He set Nico lightly on the bed and forced him to look at him. “Nico.” Ben cupped his face, holding it steady. “Look at me. Focus only on me. Listen only to my voice.”

Nico couldn’t focus. He kept thinking about Will, and kissing him, and how warm it felt. He kept thinking about how kind Will had been, how close they were.

He kept thinking about Will pulling away. He kept thinking about never being able to be with him, about Will not wanting him. He kept thinking about how he was able to move on from Percy, how he could finally let go, because Will was there, because Will made him feel safe, and how much worse this felt, because he’d been so sure.

How had he misread the signs? The touches, the looks, the smiles? Had he wanted it so bad he created them himself? He must have. Will was too good to do anything evil, and liking Nico would be evil.

He thought about how he couldn’t breathe, and about how he wasn’t sure he wanted to.

His ears began to ring, his eyelids fluttering. He was going to faint.

Someone else walked in as he fell forward, into Ben’s chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now that I've posted this chapter and I'm not spoiling this, I have a few things I want to note about it.  
> First is that this scene has been planned since the beginning. It's something I've sprinkled hints for here and there all throughout the story. It is not something I thought of at any one point and decided that it would be fun to upset you guys with. Though I think back on how I could better have set this up, but that's the problem we take when we post things as we write them instead of all at once in order to go back for a second draft.  
> The second is that this is a critique on the queer coding of Disney villains, such as Scar, Radcliffe, and Ratigan, as well as their reluctance, and even down right refusal to make good guys queer, aside from the hints within the comedic relief characters, such as Timon and Pumbaa. This can be seen best when looking at the hastags, "GiveElsaAGirlfriend" and "GiveCapABoyfriend" that have gone largely ignored by the company.  
> My personal favourite discussion of this is in Lindsay Ellis and Rantasmo's video, seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaHm78ymeOc  
> Note that this is not the best, and only my favourite. The beginning is a bit too silly for me, but the real discussion starts about four minutes in.  
> Please do not take this as me in any way vilifying queerness. Usually I wouldn't say anything at all and let my writing speak for me, but I realise that this is a very difficult subject to read about, especically lately, and I don't want anyone to feel attacked. I already know how I'm going to resolve this issue, and I'm hoping I've managed to do so in a way that gives it the respect it deserves.  
> Now that I've said my peace, I'm going to leave the rest to you and your interpretations.


	41. Waking Up

Nico heard muffled talking before he realised what had happened. He couldn’t open his eyes. It felt like he was floating.

He’d passed out. With the realisation came his senses. His eyes burned and his throat was sore. His arm felt like someone had dug a screwdriver under his elbow, searching for a way to pop it off. The person obviously gave up right before succeeding.

He blinked, looking around. Very slowly the world came into focus. Beside the bed he was laying on Mal and Ben were talking.

Mal caught sight of him and smiled. “Good, you’re awake. How are you feeling?”

He didn’t know how to respond for a moment before the memories of Will rushed back to him so quickly it knocked the air from him.

He pushed the heels of his palms into his eyes and took a deep breath. “I’m so stupid.”

Mal sat on the edge of the bed. “What happened? Why were you outside of our school?”

He shook his head, adding pressure to his eyes until colour flashed under his eyelids. “I should have known. How could I think that we- that we-” He clenched his jaw, baring his teeth.

“Nico, did something happen with Will?”

He turned onto his side, curling slowly into a ball. A slow, quiet cry seeped from his throat.

“Wait, what’s going on with Will?”

“Nico’s in love with him.”

“Nico- With Will?” Ben fell onto the bed next to Nico’s head. “Oh no.”

Mal shifted, looking at Ben. ”What?”

“I wish I’d known. I could have warned him.”

Mall sat up straight. “Warned him about what?”

Ben sighed. “Warned him that that’s not something accepted here.”

“Accepted? What’s not? A good guy and a villain’s kid?” There was a deep malice in her voice.

“No.” The softness of Ben’s voice was amplified by the contrast. “Two people of the same gender.”

“What?” The question was sharp. “And why not?”

“I’m not saying I have a problem with it, though I don’t really understand it. It’s just that it’s associated with evil.”

“Loving someone is?” Mal got to her feet, turning on Ben.

“We don’t live in a perfect world, Mal. We have messed up ideas and people. Four years ago you and me being together was unheard of.” He took a breath. “People have difficulty accepting things they don’t understand. And that includes different types of love.”

“So we change things. We teach them about it.”

Ben stood up and went over to her, putting his hands on her arms. “You are brave, and strong, and determined enough to do anything you put your mind to. But this isn’t just you. If you want people to change their minds, you have to give them proof that what you want is for the best.”

He looked to Nico, who felt a wave of violent nausea.

“This is about Nico. He has to be the one to do this.”

Mal looked to him, her expression softened a little, but still tense. ”Nico?”

He shook his head, curling further into himself so his knees touched his chest. “No. I just want this to be over.”

Mal bit her lip, staring at him until Ben touched her cheek and she deflated. “Fine. But I’m not giving up on this. I can’t live in a world that tells people that love is wrong. That’s why I came here.”

“I know.” Ben kissed her cheek. “You wouldn’t be you if you did.”

Nico clenched his jaw and squeezed his eyes shut. He didn’t want to see this right now. He didn’t want to be around couples.

Mal sat down beside him again. “Come on. You can stay in my room tonight. I’ll call Fairy Godmother and let her know.”

She put a hand on Nico’s back, and his stomach clenched. It felt wrong. It wasn’t Will’s hand.

It would never be Will’s hand again.


	42. Finals

Nico spent the rest of the week on Mal’s floor. He woke up early, went to his finals, and came back after. Ben had helped him study for his good final, and he’d been fine alone for all the others.

His friends were worried about him. He’d been avoiding them, rushing out after each final. He just couldn’t bring himself to recount what had happened with Will again. Even just the smallest reminder of him and Nico was a wreck.

He began to notice little things he never did before. He noticed the way some students looked at each other. He noticed the tiny touches that were quickly hidden. He noticed the way Elsa’s voice voice got a little bit quieter when a passing comment was made during the final the last day. It was so casual he didn’t think he would have registered the comment at all if he hadn’t been looking out for them.

He stood in the middle of the room, staring at her after their final ended, trying to make himself ask her about it. If anyone knew how to handle this, it would be her.

She gave him a smile. “If you’re wondering how you did, wonderful. You have the best grade in class.”

“No. That’s not…” His voice trailed off. He tried to spit it out, to just say it like he did with everything else. Like he did when he kissed Will…

“Nico?”

He jumped at Jason’s voice and turned around, seeing him waiting by the door with Reyna, trapping him inside.

“We haven’t seen you in a while. Are you okay?”

His throat constricted. He couldn’t do this.

He shadow traveled to Fairy Godmother’s office.

She jumped when she saw him. “Nico.” She straightened the pen she’d dropped. “How can I help you?”

He took a deep breath. “I won’t be coming back next year.” He looked down, his stomach having a fit. A contradiction bubbled up in his throat, but he bit it back. He’d thought about this and made his decision already. He couldn’t spend the entirety of next year avoiding Will the way he did Percy. He couldn’t handle explaining this to his friends. Disappearing was better. The Underworld was better. “Sorry.”

Fairy Godmother paused before giving a breathy sigh. “That’s very disappointing.. You were one of our most hopeful.”

He didn’t speak. If he did he would change his mind.

“But you completed your first year, so it’s your choice to make.” She stood up, her hands on her desk. “Are you certain?”

There was a beat before he nodded.

“Very well. I’ll save your spot in your classes and your room until the first day of the year in case you change your mind.”

He wouldn’t. As soon as he was back in the underworld, there would be no leaving.

“Would you like me to tell your roommate?"

He wanted to say yes, to have someone else deal with this for him. But he couldn’t let Will know, or anyone else. They would try to change his mind.

“No. I can do it.”

Fairy Godmother nodded. “Very well.”

Nico turned to leave.

“I do hope you change your mind. You have a lot of potential.”

His throat burned. He left before he began to cry.


	43. Packing

Nico shadow traveled to his room while he knew Will would be at his band party. Still, as the shadows melted off his body, he looked around, sure he would see him there, sitting on his bed, waiting for Nico to come back. But he was alone.

He gripped his shirt over his chest, forcing his breath to stay even. He didn’t have time to freak out. Will had spoilt him too much. He used to be better than this.

Still, he’d hoped Will would have been there to beg him not to go. Every step he took was another step toward an eternity in the Underworld.

But he couldn’t let Will stop him. He couldn’t spend forever in a world that detested who he was. He could have gotten over Will, like he did Percy, but knowing that, no matter how perfect this world seemed, he had to hide who he was, to be close enough to touch, but to never be able to belong. It was too much. The underworld may have had its problems, but at least he was accepted among the dead.

So he packed up his few items as quickly as he could. Even with the presents from Will’s family and his clothes from Evie, he could still fit it all in his single suitcase.

He stopped as he glanced at the picture of him with Will's family that they took just before heading back in January.

He was smiling in it. He took a deep, shaking breath. He wasn’t sure if he would ever smile again, honestly. Will would have called him dramatic for thinking so, but he’d never been more sure of anything in his life.

Except for Will.

He sat on his bed, staring at Will’s packed stuff across from him, his body a little numb.

He was aware he was procrastinating, waiting until Will came back. If Will caught him before he could leave, he could convince him not to go, drag him back to his family. Nico couldn’t say no to them. Then it wouldn’t be his fault if he stayed.

He heard some shuffling outside the room, his heart skipping. Adrenalyn shot through him, sending him to his feet. This was it. Time to make his final decision.

His hands shook as he placed the picture on the bed, ridding himself of any reminders of what almost was, and disappeared with his suitcase as the door opened.


	44. Leaving

Nico apparently wasn’t done torturing himself.

He stood in the shadow of a tree, watching the other students meet up with their families.

He caught sight of Rapunzel the moment she stepped out of her car. She waved to Will, her face bright, before stopping, lowing her arm. She asked him a question, and Nico saw his name on her lips.

Will hung his head.

Rapunzel pulled him into a hug, holding his head to the crook of her neck, saying something.

Nico lost his balance, his hand sliding off the tree.

Will held something to his chest, his knuckles white. When he showed it to Rapunzel, she covered her mouth.

She looked to Flynn, who shook his head, said something, and ushered them into the car.

Nico almost ran toward them, tripping as he stopped himself, falling to his knees.

“Nico?”

He jumped, turning around to see Frank with his bags. He had about as much as Nico, probably due to his parents army training.

“What are you doing here? I thought you were staying with Will for the summer.”

Nico tried for a smile, but let it drop when he saw Frank stifle a flinch. “No. There was a change of plans.”

“A change of plans?”

“Yeah.”

There was a pause in which Frank looked to the other students and his expression turned dark, his brows lowered. He looked a little scary. If Nico didn’t know him, he would be frightened.

“So it’s true that you’re leaving school.”

“What? How did you hear that?”

“A few people were talking about it, but no one knew for sure. Why? You don’t have to.”

Nico took a step back, closer to the shadows. “It’s complicated.”

Frank went to respond, opening his mouth, but pulled back with a sigh. “I understand. Well, no, I don’t. But it’s your life, so I won’t stop you.”

Nico pursed his lips. “Thanks.”

Frank nodded again and fixed his bag on his shoulder. “I guess I won’t be seeing you around.”

”No. You won’t.”

“Yeah.” He paused. “Well, bye Nico.”

“Bye.”

He melted into the shadows.

* * *

He came out in a part of the Underworld he recognised. He was by the doors.

He spent most of his time here during his last year in the Underworld, staring at them, dreaming of the day he would get out. He would graduate, go to college, write stories, maybe even fall in love someday. The whole world was in front of him.

He touched the doors, pressing his palm to the freezing stone.

He used to look at it and wait for it to open. It used to be his freedom. Now it was his prison.

His fingers curled into a fist, his nails scraping the stone, sending a chill through his body. He sunk to his knees, leaning his forehead on the doors.

His tears this time were quiet, resigned. It was over.


	45. Hades

Nico went to his father, deciding it best to get their reunion over with instead of dragging it out. He’d probably already been alerted to his return.

He met Nico at the door to his palace, his hands behind his back as he glided toward him.

There was a gurgling sound at the base of Nico’s throat. He lifted his eyes to meet his father’s. He had to face him head on. He was stuck with him now.

He’d expected some sort of fast talk. What he thought his father would say he wasn’t sure, but he always said something.

He didn’t expect him to put an arm around Nico’s shoulders and lead him inside with only a calm, “welcome back”.

It was too unexpected, and it knocked the wind from him. He could do nothing but follow his father instead, even his thoughts silenced.


	46. Lost

Nico woke up slowly, confused by the lack of sun. He thought it was still night, but he recognised the room he was in. It was lavish, his bed the size of four of the one he had back at school. It wouldn’t even fit in his room there.

He stared at the wall for a while, hours maybe. And entire day. Time meant nothing in the Underworld. He would probably stop keeping track of his age now that he was back.

The first thing he did once he got up was take everything off his walls. His map of goods world, posters of various movies, the earlier drafts of some of his stories. The only things he left up were Hazel’s drawings.

He didn’t really feel any different looking at the blank wall. He didn’t feel anything at all. It was weird, since he’d always felt too much. Now it was like the core of who he was was gone.

He went for a walk after that, no destination in mind, finding himself in a vague part of the Underworld that looked just like every other part. It didn’t matter, though. He would just wander around for the rest of his life unless his father sent someone to retrieve him for whatever reason.

The ground shook and he looked up as Cerberus tromped toward him.

He stuck a nose in Nico’s face and sniffed him before tossing one of his heads back and letting out a loud “woof” that echoed off the nothingness around them. He nudged Nico with a nose, pushing him back several feet.

Nico gave him a smile, a bit of emotion cracking through. “I missed you, too, buddy.” He scratched the side of one of his heads, making his tail thump the ground.

For such a fearsome creature, Cerberus was quite the overgrown puppy.

“Nico?”

He looked to Hazel, standing behind him, hidden in the mist like she was part of it.

“What are you doing here?”

Everything came crashing down then, his chest caving in on itself.

Cerberus nudged him with all of his noses, whining.

He didn’t cry. He didn’t think he had any more tears left in him. But it hurt in a stifling, suffocating way that would never go away. He thought that he would realise that this would be the rest of his life in that moment,

if he’d ever managed to forget.

“I came back.”

Hazel furrowed her brows at him. “Why?”

His breath shook. “Because I don’t belong there. I never did.”

“You don’t belong here.”

He grit his teeth, the pain in his chest turning sharp. “Then I don’t belong anywhere.”

Hazel hugged him, pushing her face into the crook of his neck. “What happened?”

The tension left him with his next breath, and he held her back, his body limp. “I fell in love.”

Hazel pulled back, looking him in the eyes. “Isn’t that a good thing?”

Nico shook his head. “The kind of love that I have isn’t okay there.”

“I don’t understand.”

He smiled, his eyes unfocused. “I can’t love another boy there. It’s not okay.”

“But why?”

“I don’t know.” He laughed, a breath with a hysterical lilt to it. He leant forward, letting his head fall onto Hazel's shoulder. “I think he loved me, too.”

“Oh, Nico.” She held him tightly. “Maybe you can change things, the way Maleficent’s daughter did. Maybe-” She grasped for something else to say, but Nico shook his head.

“It’s too late.”

“Nico…” Hazel pulled back, startling him. “Then I won’t go. I’ll stay here with you.”

“No. You have to go.” He cupped her cheek. “That world was made for you. The people, the grass and the trees, the colours. You’ll love every single moment of it.” He used his thumb to wipe away a tear. “I made my choice. You can’t let it affect yours. Promise me.”

She rubbed at her eyes, her body jumping in quet, hiccuping sobs. “But-”

“Promise me, please. I could never live with myself if you gave up for life for me.”

She nodded, crying harder.

“Promise?”

“I promise.”

“Good.” He pulled her to himself, holding the back of her head. “You will do great things.” He kissed her cheek. “I love you.”


	47. Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen

Weeks must have passed with Hazel while he told her of good’s world, of the people and the classes, Elsa, the clubs.

He didn’t talk about Will until he’d exhausted all his other memories.

Then, on the first mention of him, the dam broke loose and everything came rushing out. Every little insignificant detail was shared with her.

He told her about the shade of Will’s hair and eyes, how many freckles Nico believed he had, the feel of his skin, and the sound of his voice. And he told her of his family, of Rapunzel’s singing and Flynn’s swordsmanship, and of the children in the town, and the library.

When he told her about Rapunzel’s mother, she told him that it sounded the same as him, and his voice caught in his throat.

“That’s what Will said, too.”

He told her about their second semester, and, eventually, about kissing him, and how perfect the world was in that moment, and how it was torn apart right after.

He told her about everything, until she was as intimate with Will as he was.

And she listened, taking in every detail.

When there was nothing left to say, she took his hand, squeezing it. “I think that you were right, that he does love you back.”

He didn’t know how he felt, hearing that. Relief at knowing he wasn’t wrong? Regret that he gave up without a fight? Hollow at any chance at future happiness being out of his reach?

He just smiled at her. “Thank you.”

With nothing else to talk about, they closed their eyes and waited for Hazel to leave.


	48. Season One Finale

Nico woke up feeling groggy, as he often did when he slept in the mist, to a figure standing over him.

He didn’t question it. Ghosts were often drawn to him. If he just ignored it, it would go away. He covered his eyes with his arm and moved closer to Hazel.

Slowly his senses came to him and he looked back up at Will. “What?”

A jolt went through him and he stumbled to his feet, nearly sprawling forward. “What are you doing here?” His body felt cold in a way that had nothing to do with the air around him. “You’re not-?” His voice caught.

He reached forward and touched Will’s shoulder.

He was solid. Nico let out his breath. He was still alive. But then how was he in the underworld? Normal people couldn’t just pass through all willy-nilly. Something must have happened.

Will stared at him, eyes wide and frightened. “You’re so pale.”

Hazel groaned next to his feet, attracting Will’s attention.

Nico stepped between them on instinct, and saw how the distrust cut at Will. But it didn’t matter, not anymore.

Hazel stood up, pulling at Nico’s shirt, stumbling. “Nico, what’s wrong?” She blinked at Will, realisation coming to her as slowly as it did him. “Will?” She looked to Nico, eyes wide. “How is he here?”

Nico kept his eyes on Will’s. “I don’t know.”

Will took a moment to collect his senses, straightening his back, looking Nico in the eyes. “I’ve come to bring you back.” He faltered, looking to Hazel again.

Nico shifted to be directly between them. “I can’t go back with you.”

“Nico.” Will looked back to him, his face pale. He shouldn’t he here. “Please. I messed up. I should have talked to you. I should have-” His voice caught with a sob. “Please come back.”

Nico’s body went numb, his expression hardening. “I can’t.”

“Nico…” Will reached forward and cupped his face in his hands. “I need you to come back. I made a mistake. I’m so sorry.”

Nico took a step back, out of Will’s reach. His chest hurt, like his ribcage was being torn apart, violently ripped in half, breaking from his spine. “I can’t.”

“Nico, please! I’m begging you!” Will stepped toward him again, gripping his shirt at his chest with shaking hands. “I need you. My life without you, it’s just not right. I feel so empty and I don’t know what to do. It’s like I can’t breathe. I was so stupid.” He grabbed his bangs, yanking on them. “I don’t care what anyone says anymore. I can’t bring myself to care. All I care about is that you’re there with me.”

“Stop it!”

Hazel and Will both jumped. His voice echoed around them.

Nico put a hand over his eyes, gripping the bottom of his shirt. “I can’t go back with you, okay? So just shut up!”

Will stared at him, sweating and green. He had to get out of the underworld immediately. “But why?”

“Well isn’t this precious.”

Nico and Will both froze at Hades’ voice. Hazel squeaked and hid behind Nico, pressing her forehead into his back.

“And such a romantic confession. How cute.” Hades put a hand on Will’s shoulder as he came up behind him, pinching his cheek with his other. “Want to introduce me to your friend, Nico?”

“Will was just leaving.”

“Nico-”

“You’re leaving.”

Will flinched at Nico’s voice and his glare.

“No, stay awhile. You don’t look so good.”

Hades was right. Will’s legs were shaking. He looked like he was hardly able to stand. Nico had no idea how long he’d been down here.

“Sir.” Will turned to Hades. “Please let Nico come back to school.”

“Now, that’s something I can’t do. You see.” Hades moved to Nico’s side, putting a hand on his shoulder, making his skin feel like cold water was running down a sunburn. “My son made a deal.”

Will looked to him, but Nico was staring pointedly at the ground with wide eyes, his face hot. “Nico?”

“That girl he’s trying to protect right there.”

Hazel’s hands tightened around Nico’s shirt as Hades looked at her.

“She’s not suppose to be here. Her dear old dad is stuck somewhere much, much worse, with no escape. And that’s where she should be, too. But somehow,” Hades began to pace as he talked, “somehow she wound up here, and made friends with my little Nico.” Hades ruffled his hair.

He thought he’d be sick.

“He begged me to let her stay, and go to your little school, but, what can I say? You can’t get something for nothing. So we made a deal.”

A chill went through Nico at the way his father’s voice suddenly got darker. He was planning something, but Nico didn’t know what.

“I would allow all of this, but, if he came back to the Underworld at any time, for any reason, he had to stay. And he did.”

Hazel gripped at his sleeve. “Nico?”

He wouldn’t look at her.

“But there has to be something I can do.” Will stepped toward Hades. “What if…” He looked down, taking a deep breath. “What if I make a deal with you?”

Nico looked at him, then at his father, who was smiling. “No. I don’t agree with this.”

“Now, here’s the thing.” Hades leant down so he was eye to eye with Nico. “You don’t have to.”

“You can’t-”

Hades snapped his fingers, wrapping Nico in his solid mist, binding his limbs and gagging him.

He sprawled forward, hitting the ground hard.

“Nico!” Hazel dropped to her knees and tried to free him, but her fingers just passed through the mist.

“Now, you were saying?”

Will stared at him for a moment with wide eyes and a gaping mouth while Nico struggled to convince him not to do it.

“Hey, I’m a very busy god. Can we hurry this up?”

Will looked back to Hades, still in shock and growing more pale. “Right. Yeah. A deal.” He dried his palms on his pants. “What do you want?”

“Now, you see, that’s not how this works. You have to offer me something.” Hades leant down beside Nico and squished his face with his hand, directing it toward Will. “What do you have that’s worth little Nico here.”

He watched Nico for a moment, then looked to Hazel. “Me.”

Nico’s heart skipped. He felt like he was frozen in a block of dry ice.

Will looked to Hades. “Take me instead.”

“Interesting offer, but we can do better.” He dropped Nico and stood to his full height “How about…” He trailed off, though he knew exactly what he wanted. He was just trying to make them anxious to up their chances of agreeing.

And it was working, Nico could see the anticipation in Will’s eyes.

“You perform a heroic feet by the end of your next school year, one that could turn a man into a god, and he can stay with you. If not, you both come back here, and you stay here forever.”

Nico tried to call out to Will, to make him change his mind, but he could hardly make a sound, no matter how loud he tried to scream. So he just stared at him, trying to glare, but just looking desperate instead. He tried to beg him. Nico had made his choice, deliberately. Will wasn’t responsible for him anymore.

Will took a long, shaking breath, and turned his gaze from Nico, back to Hades. “Deal.”

“Great.” Hades grinned, showing everyone his pointed teeth. He held out his hand. “Shake on it. Make it official.”

There was a moment of hesitance, and Nico hoped Will had come to his senses. But he reached for the hand.

“Wait!”

They all turned to Hazel, Hades too shocked to be angry.

“You can’t interfere.” Hazel kept both of her hands on Nico’s back. They were shaking violently.

Hades smirked. “Fine. Fine. I won’t interfere, or else the deal is moot and you win.” He turned back to Will, his dark expression back. “Do we have a deal?”

Will looked much more confident at the stipulation and gave Nico a sharp nod. “Deal.”

He took Hades hand, and there was a bright light that blinded them.

When it cleared and Nico was able to see through the white spots in his eyes, Hades was gone, and so were his binds.

He shot to his feet and grabbed the front of Will’s shirt violently, shaking him. “What is wrong with you? Why would you do that?”

He took Nico’s face in his hands and kissed him.

Nico took in a sharp breath, his hands freezing.

When Will pulled away he was looking at Nico like he thought Nico might deck him.

The thought had crossed his mind.

“What was that for?”

“I can’t imagine my world without you, Nico. Not anymore. I was stupid to think that what anyone else thinks matters.”

He kissed Nico again, and this time Nico closed his eyes, kissing him back.

“Nico?” Will spoke into his lips.

He pulled back. “What?”

“We should get your stuff and go.” Will’s legs buckled and he crumbled.

Nico tried to catch him, but he stumbled to the ground with him.

Hazel gaspt and ran to their sides.

Together the two of them hoisted Will to a standing position, but he was shivering and sweaty and pale, and could barely stay upright leaning on them.

“Watch him for a minute, I’ll be right back.”

Nico shadow traveled to his room and grabbed his yet unpacked bag, then made another trip back to them.

He dropped to his knees beside Will, brushing his hair from his face. “Come on, we have to get you out of here.”

Both he and Hazel supported him as they walked as quickly as Will could go back to the doors.

Hazel almost fell backwards as Nico stopped suddenly at the sight of Silena standing in front of the doors.

She must have been the one to help Will through them. And she stayed behind because Nico never would have agreed to return with her there.

She ran forward when she saw them, taking Hazel’s place supporting Will. “We need to get him out of here, fast.”

Nico stared at her, his mouth dry. “Why?”

“Because he’s on the brink of death.”

“No, I mean…” He swallowed, trying to wet his mouth.

Silena let out a breath. “You know, I don’t blame you for what happened to my mother. That would be silly. Besides.” She hoisted Will up so she had a better grip on his chest. “It sounds like the two of you have more in common than you and your father.”

“But…”

“Look, we can talk more about this later, once Will's safe.”

Nico’s heart skipped. “Right. Right, let’s go.”

They rushed to the doors as quickly as they could manage without stumbling.

They each put a hand on the doors, and they opened outward with a deafening rumble.

Nico looked back to Hazel, who hadn’t moved from her spot ten yards back. “Hazel, come on!”

She shook her head. “This is all my fault.”

Nico gave Silena all of Will’s weight and ran back to Hazel, taking her hand. “What are you talking about? We have to go.”

She yanked her hand away from him. “None of this would have happened if I would have just stayed where I was. Then you wouldn’t have made that deal to save me, and Will wouldn’t have had to make his deal to save you.”

“Hazel, none of this is your fault. You didn’t ask me to make that deal, or Will to make his. We both made them on our own. But if you stay here, they’ll both be useless. We’ll both have done this for nothing.”

There was a blush on her cheeks, but she nodded. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine.” He kissed her cheek. “But we have to go now, before Will gets any worse.”

“Yeah." She took his hand. “Let’s go.”

They ran through the door and were blinded by an orange-red light, the colour of the rising sun.


	49. Explanation

Hazel covered her eyes, flinching away from the sun. She’d never seen anything so bright before.

Nico pulled her into a hug, holding her tight. They both shook, Hazel’s breathing heavy and ragged.

She cried out, curling into herself. “My stomach! It hurts!”

Nico was in a panic for a moment before remembering his first trip to the surface world almost a year ago. “Food.” He looked around. “She needs food! She’s starving!”

Frank, whom Nico hadn’t even realised was there, dropped to his knees beside her and gave her some dried fruits.

“She’s never eaten before. She doesn’t know how.”

Nico found himself sweating from his own stomach pains, but he could survive this. Hazel couldn’t.

Frank talked her through the process of eating, his voice soft and patient. Silena handed Nico a muffin, smiling softly at him as he stared at it. He wasn’t sure if he should accept it, but she had just saved him and Hazel, and it had probably been at least a month since he’d last eaten, so he did and wolfed it down so fast that he could hardly taste it. Though after spending time in the Underworld, everything would taste like dirt for a week.

She put a hand on his back and rubbed little circles in it. “Do you feel better?”

He nodded.

“Good.”

He looked around, shocked by the crowd. It seemed like everyone was there. Jason, Reyna, Percy, Annabeth, Piper, even Clarisse and Leo had come along.

He jumped, looking around. “Where’s Will?”

Silena put a hand on his shoulder, forcing him to sit back. “He’s being taken care of. Don’t worry. He’ll be okay.”

Nico let out a breath. “Okay. Good.” He looked back to the others, all standing in a group, an entirely different kind of anxiety filling him. “Hey.”

“You okay?”

He tried his best to smile at Percy, whose expression always tilted more toward annoyed than worried so that Nico could never fully read him. “Yeah.”

“Good.” It twisted into pure anger and he reached down and yanked Nico to his feet by the front of his shirt, making his head reel. “Then what is wrong with you? Why would you just quit school?”

Nico choked, his heart beating fast. He yanked on Percy’s hands. “Let go.”

Annabeth put a hand on his shoulder and he dropped Nico with a huff. “Really though, what the hell dude?”

Nico forced himself to stand, taking deep breaths. “I’m sorry.”

Percy’s jaw tensed. “Why did you do it?”

Nico looked past him to Annabeth, who looked confused for the first time ever. “I-” He tried to wet his mouth, but it was so dry. “I kissed Will, and… And he told me that loving a man, in this world, isn’t okay.”

The villains kids all turned on Jason for answers, yelling and getting in his face. He held up his hands, looking away.

“Guys.”

They all got quiet and looked back at Nico, except for Leo, who had to be nudged in order to divert his attention.

“I thought a lot about my decision. Pretending to be someone else for the rest of my life, watching people fall in love, start families, I couldn’t do that.” He played with his ring, twisting it. “I still don’t really know if coming back was the best idea.”

Reyna sighed. “Why didn’t you tell us?”

Nico looked at his feet. “You would have stopped me.”

“Of course we would have stopped you.” Percy crossed his arms, glaring at Nico. “You won’t achieve anything by running away.”

“Percy’s right.” Annabeth stepped forward so she was standing beside him. “You can’t change things if you don’t try.”

“I don’t want to.” Nico crossed his arms tightly over his chest. “I don’t want to be some crusader for change. I don’t want people looking at me like I’m some sort of leader.”

“Someone has to be.” Frank was holding Hazel in his arms, helping her drink. “Every change has to start with a single person.”

“Frank’s right.” Piper fidgeted  with the feather in her hair. “My mum was taken from her home, locked up, and almost died multiple times for her belief that we were all people, all capable of goodness. In the end she was right, but it took a lot to get to the point where people listened to and accepted her.”

Nico felt like he was frozen. “I don’t…”

“It all depends on how much you want this.” Silena stood with her hands behind her back. “You could spend the rest of your life hiding this, sneaking around, kissing behind locked doors, like most people. It would be easier, safer. Or you can stand up and be with Will like any other couple. It’s your choice.”

He wanted that more than anything. “I shouldn’t have to choose. Other people don’t have to.”

“No, you shouldn’t. But you do. And there’s no way around it.”

He put his face in his hands. “I need time. I need to talk to Will.”

“Of course.”

Nico was surprised when Percy hugged him. He didn’t think he liked Percy anymore, but four years of emotions didn’t just disappear because he fell for someone else. His thoughts still traveled to him by habit, and his heart still skipped when they touched on reflex.

He pushed Nico back, holding his shoulders at arm’s length. “If you ever disappear without saying something again, I’ll come to the Underworld and kill you.”

Nico laughed, the relief bubbling up in him. “Yeah, all right.”

Annabeth, Leo, and Piper all hugged him as well.

When it was Jason’s turn, he squeezed Nico so tight his back cracked. “I’m sorry I didn’t warn you about things here. In Arendelle things are so different I didn’t even think about it.”

Nico once again thought about Elsa’s reaction during their final. Of course Jason wouldn’t think about that.

He slowly returned Jason’s hug.

Percy made an offended noise. “Why does he get a hug back? I’ve known you longer.”

Jason grinned at Percy. “Because he likes me better.”

“He gave you a black eye.”

“Because you were talking smack about him, and I believed you.”

Nico stared at Percy, making him flush.

“That was years ago.”

“You had all that time to correct yourself, and you didn’t.”

Percy gaped like a fish at Jason. “Well, you’re a jerk.”

Reyna pulled Jason off of Nico. “Both of you are jerks. It’s my turn for a hug.”

For some reason, hugging Reyna made Nico blush. It was much more intimate since neither of them were particularly intimate people. “I’m glad you came back.”

Nico closed his eyes and hugged her back. “Thanks.”

It was nice, not hearing about what he “should” have done, or what he needs to do, but just that someone was happy to have him around. He had no responsibilities when it came to Reyna. He didn’t have to be more social or smarter or change the world. Just being him was enough.

She gave him a wave goodbye and everyone aside from Frank and Silena left.

Nico knelt beside Hazel. “How are you doing?”

She groaned. “The sun is bright and hot, and hunger sucks.”

Nico laughed. “You get use to it.” He held his arms out, and Frank passed her to him. “Thanks.”

“It’s fine.” Frank had a slight blush. “I’ll see you two at school, all right.”

Nico nodded, and Frank let out a relieved breath before following the others.

Silena knelt beside them. “I guess you want that explanation now.”

“Can we wait on that, actually? I don’t think I can handle much more right now. And I want to get Hazel to a doctor and check on Will.”

“Of course. Charlie brought him to the hospital.”

“Charlie?”

“My boyfriend. Come on.”

She helped Hazel to stand and together they carried her to Silena’s car.


	50. Why?

At first the nurse wouldn't let Nico in to see Will, but Silena managed to convince him.

He sat in the chair provided for guests and waited for Will to wake up. For two hours he stared at him, praying to whatever god cared (aside from his father) that he was okay. Even if they didn't care for Nico, surely they liked Will.

When he finally opened his eyes, Nico nearly began to cry.

Will smiled up at him. "That Underworld place sure packs a wallup."

"That and that stupid deal you made with my father. What were you thinking?"

"That it was the only way to get you back."

Nico scoffed. "Yeah, for a year. Then we both go back. You do realise you signed your own death warrant, right?"

"Not if I can perform a heroic feat by the end of the year."

"And what exactly are you planning to do, huh? What heroic feat can you do in high school? Cancel finals? Hercules had to almost die to save Megara before he could become a god."

"I almost died. Does that mean we won?"

"Be serious!"

Will sighed. "I don't want to think about this right now. I just want to be with you. We've been apart way too long."

He touched the hair at Nico's nape, and a sob caught in Nico's throat.

"I'm scared. I don't want anything to happen to you. Not because of me. I'm not worth it."

"Nico, you're worth that and more. And I'm tired of pretending you're not because I'm scared of what people will think."

Nico bit the inside of his lip to keep it from quivering. "Idiot."

"Yeah."

Will pulled him gently down to kiss him.

It was soft and sweet and warm, and everything Nico had thought a kiss would be when he dreamed about good's world. Except for the part where he started to cry in the middle of it, making Will laugh.


	51. The Hospital

Nico stayed with Will until the nurse came in and said that Hazel was awake and able to see family.

He shadow traveled there.

"Hey." He sat down on the bed next to her. "How ya' doin'?"

She had dark purple circles under her eyes, and Nico smiled at the memories of his own. "Needles are uncomfortable, and hunger and thirst are inconvenient."

"You get used to them. Well, not the needles. Hopefully not. You're just dehydrated. Once you're okay you just need to make sure to drink water on a regular basis, and eat every day."

She groaned. "How am I supposed to remember to do that?"

"I'll help remind you. And after a while you'll start to recognise the symptoms."

"Great. New world, new problems." She sighed. "At least you're here to help me."

"Yeah." He kissed her forehead. "And as soon as you're out of here we're going out to my favourite place to celebrate. It's called McDonald's, and it's like eating magic. You won't find anything better."

"Start me on the best and ruin me for the rest. I see how it is."

"Of course." He brushed her sweaty hair from her eyes. "Get some sleep. You'll feel better after."

"Weird."

"I know, but it helps the body heal here."

She nodded, closing her eyes. "At least I like sleep. I get to dream..."

She was out. Nico said her name a few times before gently rising.

He grabbed her chart at the end of her bed and looked through it. He didn't understand most of it, more than half written in medical jargen.

Name: Hazel. No last name. No known parentage.

Emergency contact: Nico, son of Hades

Age: Unknown. Assumed 13

Height: 5'0"

Weight: 84 LBS

Body fat: 7%

Severe dehydration

Signs of past abuse

Psychological evaluation requested

Nico felt the urge to throw out the clipboard, but knew the doctor was probably right. Seeing someone and having someone aside from him to talk to would probably be good for her. And what were they going to do, send her back to the Underworld? Ben's proclamation declared that every child of a villain deserved a second chance once they reached high school. All of them.

And Nico would fight them tooth and nail if they tried. He would die before he allowed them to touch her.

So he set the clipboard back and tip-toed out of the room, and back to Will's, where he jostled Nico from his thoughts.

"How is she?"

"Okay. More annoyed than anything." He took his seat by the bed again. "She's sleeping now."

"She seems sweet."

"She is. You won't find anyone sweeter or more loyal." He smiled. "She's like my sister."

"Hey, Nico? How come you never told me about her?"

Nico bit his lip, his smile gone. He wanted to tell Will that he trusted him with Hazel, that he just never got the chance to mention her. But he'd been honest about everything, even the things that hurt them and almost tore them apart. So why start lying now?

"I was worried, because Hazel's existence is a mystery. We don't know how she was born or how she got into the Underworld. For all we know my father brought her there to tempt my hand. So I didn't want to bring any attention to her in case it put her in danger."

"Not even to me?"

Nico flinched. "No."

Will looked at his lap. "I guess that's fair."

"Will, you have to understand. Hazel's my responsibility. She doesn't have anyone else to rely on."

Will sighed, his chest rising and falling in a wide motion. "Yeah, I know. You've always had that hero thing going on."

Nico furrowed his brows at him, his lips parted. "Excuse me?"

"You know, that 'I have to do what's best for everyone even if it hurts me' thing." He waved his hand, motioning vaguely at Nico. "It's why you tried to keep distancing yourself from me at first, so you wouldn't get me wrapped up in your baggage. And why you never told Percy that you liked him."

Nico wrinkled his nose. "You're wrong about all of that."

"I don't think I am."

"Will-"

"No." Will put a finger to Nico's lips, making Nico give him an incredulous look. "You can think whatever you want about yourself. But I don't buy that you're as selfish as you pretend to be."

"You don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh really?"

"Really."

"Then why did you offer your life for Hazel's?"

"Anyone would do that-"

"You grew up on the Isle and in the Underworld, and you believe that?"

Nico gaped. "It's true."

"It's not. And you tried to stop me from making my deal for you."

"It was a stupid move. And see, you did the same for me."

"Because I love you." Will took Nico's hand.

There was a lump in Nico's throat that made it hard to breathe. "You...?"

"Yes."

He pulled Nico slowly closer to him, kissing him. He smiled into Nico's lips. "You know, I could get used to this."

"You're a dork." Nico fell back into his chair. "I hate to ruin this moment, but another problem was brought up."

Will pouted, his face pink, making his freckles pop. "What's that?"

Nico gripped Will's hand to keep from shaking. "Why did my father make that deal with you?"

"Why? Doesn't he just like making deals?"

"Well, yes. But he's no fool. He doesn't just make a deal all willy-nilly."

"Willy-nilly?"

"I'm trying to be serious."

"Right, sorry." Will used his free hand to help himself sit up. "So he made a deal with me. Why is that unusual? My soul for yours seems pretty standard."

"Yeah, but if that's the case, then why didn't he just accept your deal? Why change it and give us a chance at freedom?" Nico put his free hand to his chin, staring intently at the end of Will's bed. "There's a bigger plot here, I know it. My deal made sense on its own. I'm his son, of course he wants me in the Underworld. But this..." He dropped his head onto his hand. "There's something we're missing. What is it?"

"Hey, Nico." Will took his other hand so he was holding both. "One step at a time, okay? We can get everyone together to brainstorm as soon as school starts. But right now we have two people in the hospital, and you need to reapply."

Nico felt himself go cold. "I completely forgot about school."

"See? One step at a time or you'll crash. We'll get through this. I promise."

Nico's mouth tasted bitter, but he nodded.

"Now go call the school before you forget."

Nico stood, feeling a bit dazed and went to leave.

"Nico?"

He turned back to Will, his hand on the door.

Will kissed his hand, then blew on it.

"Um." Nico wrinkled his brow at him. "What was that?"

"I was blowing you a kiss."

"I'm sorry?"

"No one's ever blow a kiss at you before?"

"I'm pretty sure you just made that up."

"No, it's a real thing. And you're suppose to catch it."

"Catch what?"

"The kiss."

"But it's not a tangible thing."

"That's not the point."

"Then what is the point?"

"It's cute."

"It's stupid."

Will huffed. "Just go make your stupid phone call, killjoy."

Nico left, rolling his eyes. "Whatever, loser."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I absolutely love hearing your guys theories and guesses. Throw them at me!


	52. Re-enrolling

Nico’s hands shook as he called Fairy Godmother. She picked up after the second ring, but Nico couldn’t speak.

“Hello?” She waited. “Is anyone there?” She waited again. “If you don’t speak, I’ll have to hang up.”

That unlodged the rock in his throat. “Um, Fairy Godmother?”

“Yes, this is she.”

“Um, it’s…” He twisted the cord around his fingers, holding the receiver tighter. “It’s Nico.”

“Oh, Nico. Hello.” Her voice had a lighter tone to it. “I hope you’re calling to tell me you’re returning for your sophomore year.”

“I-” He hadn’t expected this kind of simplicity. “Yes, I am.”

“Good.” There was a shuffling of papers on the other end of the line. “I’ll have my secretary put you back in the system right away.”

“Um, Fairy Godmother?”

She hummed, sounding a bit distracted.

“There’s something else you need to know.”

There was a pause, then Fairy Godmother’s response was tense. “What is it?”

“Um…” He gripped and pulled on the cord hard enough that he had to consciously relax his hand to keep from breaking it. “You see, I… That is, me and- and Will- I- We-” His voice cracked and gave out. His head felt light.

“Are you two in a romantic relationship?”

He nodded before realising she couldn’t see him. “Yes.” His voice was a croak.

“I see.” There was another pause and more shuffling. “Well then, I’ll need to assign you both new roommates.”

“What?”

“Well you two can’t live together if you’re in a relationship. You’re teenagers. Now.” There was the sound of typing. “How about Octavian? Another villain’s son might be good for you. Someone to relate to.”

Nico’s skin was tingling. Was he dreaming? “Um, who?”

“Octavian, son of Frolo.” She muttered something to herself. “No, that’s an awful idea. He’s best left to himself. Now, let me see. Cecil would be a poor choice, he’s far too energetic. What about Frank? Do you know Frank?”

“Frank? Yeah, he’s cool.”

“Good. Some reorganisation... “ There was some clicking. “And done.”

“Excuse me, Ma’am?”

“Yes?”

“Um.” Nico put his back against the wall, bending his knees so he was crouching slightly. “You’re not upset?”

There was another rustle, then silence.

“Not everyone has a problem with things that are different from themselves. I’ve been around for a very, very long time, since before things became how they are now. I know what you’re doing is far from wrong.”

A sound rose in his chest and caught in his throat with a burble. He tried to swallow it away, but only made it thicker.

“I’m glad you told me this. I’m just sad you didn’t tell me earlier.”

“Sorry.” And he honestly was. There was a weird relief that came from Fairy Godmother’s acceptance, the acceptance of an adult. If he'd had it sooner then he might not have left.

But it was too late now to think about what if’s.

“I hope you’ll come to me or another teacher when you have problems in the future.”

“Yeah.” He nodded once. “I will.”

“Good.” There was a sound he couldn’t place. “Is there anything else I can help you with?”

“Yes, actually.” Nico stood up straight, turning to face the wall and hunching over the phone. “Is there a Hazel registered in the freshman class?”

“I’m sorry. I can’t give out that information.”

That was both relieving and frustrating.

“There should be, if there’s not. And if there is, she likes art.”

There was a pause, then some typing. “Thank you for that information.”

“No problem.”

“Is there anything else?”

“No. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, Nico.”

He hung up the phone, staring at it. He wasn’t sure how he felt. There was relief. A pressure was gone from his chest. But also a dreading, but he didn’t know of what.

He took a deep breath and went to check on Hazel.


	53. Parents.

Nico spent his day fluttering between Hazel’s and Will’s rooms. Mostly he went to Hazel to find her sleeping. Sometimes she would wake to glance at him, mutter something incomprehensible like, “the pigeons are at the circus orchestra”, then fall back asleep.

Will, however, was determined to stay awake and in as much physical contact with Nico as possible. He held his hand, played with his hair, and kissed him at least once every ten minutes.

They were affectionate before dating, but now it was different. Now it was thick, and hot, and had his skin prickling and his heart pounding in ways it never had before. He had to leave just so he could get some air.

He never knew suffocating could be pleasant.

It was while Nico was reading to Will with the use of only one hand that Rapunzel and Flynn walked in.

He stood up, trying to pull his hand free, but Will gripped it tightly. He looked down to it, then to Will, trying to wordlessly beg him to let go. They would hate him. They would refuse to let him see Will ever again. His eyes and throat burned.

He looked to the floor, hiding his face completely with his bangs. His body was tense and shaking.

Will pushed himself up on the bed. “Mum, dad. I need to tell you something.” He took an audible breath. “I love Nico.”

Nico held his breath, his heart pounding. His tears had filled his eyes, ready to pour out.

The sound of Will’s heart monitor sped up.

“Oh, honey.” Rapunzel’s voice was soft. “We know.”

Nico looked up at her, his tears falling. “What?”

She smiled at them. “We do have eyes, you know. We could see it from the first moment we met you.” She moved forward and cupped Nico’s cheek. “You have a very expressive face. And I know my son.” She looked to him. “You’ve been completely heartbroken for the last two months.”

Will began to laugh, slowly at first, then from deep in his belly.

Nico stared at him, not sure if he’d snapped. But Will just wiped at his eye and his smiled crumbled, his expression twisting into pain. He pushed the heel of his palm into his eye, his jaw tensing, baring his teeth. He closed his eyes tight, his brow furrowing, the tendons in his neck tensing, becoming more defined. His grip on Nico’s hand constricted until it hurt as he curled into himself.

Nico sat on the bed beside him, his notebook dropping to the floor. “Will?” Nico touched his face gently, brushing his fingers over Will’s cheek. “Hey, Will.”

Will sobbed through his clenched teeth, taking in deep breaths and letting them out in a horrible, heart-wrenching sound that left Nico breathless.

“I was so scared.” He tried to breathe, huffing a few times before sucking in a long, wheezing breath. “I thought- I thought you would hate me.”

Nico pulled Will to his chest, holding him tight, his entire body shaking. Seeing Will lose control like this was terrifying. It wasn’t right.

Rapunzel sat on the other side of Will, putting her hand on his back. “Never.” She kissed his head, wrapping her arm around him. “I love you more than anything.”

Flynn came over and engulfed both boys in a hug. “We love you.”

Nico’s body began to shake with his quiet cries.

Rapunzel began to sing, her voice drowning out Will’s sobs. She sang until he calmed, so long Nico thought her voice would give out.


	54. Missed Your Birthday

Will was discharged from the hospital after a week. When Flynn showed up to take him home (Rapunzel was busy with queenly duties), he tried to collect Nico’s bag as well.

He declined returning with them, flinching away from Will’s hurt expression. He needed to keep an eye on Hazel. But Flynn promised to bring him back every single day, insisting that he needed to sleep in a real bed, and not in a chair in the corner.

So he relented and went with them, holding Will’s hand the entire ride home.

Rapunzel welcomed them with Hugs and a party. There was cake (which Nico didn’t know existed), balloons, streamers, music, and twelve different foods on a table.

“That reminds me.” Rapunzel passed Nico a third piece of cake. “When’s your birthday?”

“My what?”

There was a pause, and Nico knew he’d said something wrong.

But Rapunzel’s smile never faltered. “Your birthday, When you were born.”

“Oh.” His cake suddenly tasted like paper. “I don’t know.”

There was another silence, and Nico’s hands began to shake. Will laced his fingers into one, squeezing it. It helped a little, but no amount of comfort and affection could fix the divide their births had created.

“Well then, how about March twenty-first?”

“Excuse me?”

“March twenty-first, the first day of spring.” She hummed lightly to herself. “Yes, that works nicely. Oh, and it means we missed it. We need to throw you a birthday party.”

“A birthday party?”

“We’ll need a cake, pizza, presents.” She turned to Will. “Can you send out the invitations?”

”Invitations? Wait a minute.”

Will saluted her. “On it.” He rushed off.

Rapunzel turned to Flynn. ”Decorations.”

“I’ll be back in an hour.” He kissed her cheek and ran off.

“And I will pick out some movies to watch and gather some sleeping bags.”

“Sleeping bags? What’s going on?”

Rapunzel gave him a hug and left as well.

Nico stood where he was, gaping at an empty room. Was something like this going to happen every time he came here?


	55. Eugene

Apparently birthdays consisted of a bunch of people showing up where you lived, eating your food, gossiping, singing an awful song while you blew out a fire purposely put on a cake, opening presents that you hate, then not paying attention to several movies until bedtime.

Nico loved it.

But his favourite was the late night whispered conversations.

They were either really weird, like when Annabeth asked, “do you think crass gets hurt when you walk on it?” or existential, like the conversation around four about what it would mean for them if evil really was eradicated. Would good then have to be eradicated to keep the balance? Or would it even exist at all without evil to compare it to? What is good, really?

Elsa would have been proud.

After everyone else fell asleep, around the time the sun came up, Nico slipped from Will’s embrace and went to the garden for a walk.

For a while it was just him, walking in circles, thinking about what was happening in his life, and how this would all play out. No matter what Will said, he couldn’t not think about it. Will had no idea what he’d got himself into with this. Even Nico knew he wasn’t fully grasping the size of his father’s plan.

Someone had walked up to him while he was staring at the ground at his feet, making him jump violently.

“Sorry.” Flynn held up his hands. In one he held the hilts of two swords. “I was coming out for my morning practice and thought you might want to join me.”

Nico relaxed, breathing out. “Yeah. I’d love to.”

Flynn tossed him the smaller sword and took his position.

They exchanged a few casual blows, Nico too distracted to give it his all. When he realised that Flynn was going easy on him to compensate, a jilt went through him. He tensed, expecting a sharp strike, followed by his father’s voice telling him to “keep his eye on the prize” from the sidelines. But it never came.

“Hey, Flynn?”

“Eugene.”

Nico deflected Flynn’s sword poorly, stumbling to the side. “What?”

“Eugene. It’s my name.” His voice was very matter of fact.

Nico stared at him, his lips parted. “Yes, I know. That’s what Rapunzel calls you. But why are you telling me?”

“Because that’s what my family calls me.”

He stared at Flynn. The point was just outside of his grasp, and he felt like an idiot for missing it. “Okay?”

Flynn chuckled, lowering his sword, and Nico’s cheeks flushed. “That means you, Nico.”

The tip of his sword hit the dirt with a sickening scratching sound that sent a chill up his spine. “I- me?”

Flynn nodded. “You.”

His hands shook. “I don’t understand.” His eyes traveled down to Flynn’s sword. He couldn’t help thinking that this was some sort of trick, and that Flynn would follow up with, “If you do so-and-so”. But he didn’t.

And Nico knew that he would never do something like that, to anyone. But still the fear was there.

Flynn walked up to him, and Nico flinched, closing his eyes, making Flynn stop. But, after a moment, he closed the distance and hugged him.

Nico opened his eyes, staring over Flynn’s shoulder. He held his breath to keep it from going out of control.

“You’re a part of our family, because we love you.” He pulled back, keeping his arms on Nico’s shoulders, crouching slightly. It looked odd on him, like it had been too many years since he’d had to do this with Will. “We’re all a little broken here. Turns out you fit right in.” He gave Nico a smile. “You belong with us, Nico.”

Nico dropped his sword, his hand going slack. Those were not words he was meant to hear. Not him. Not Nico. It just didn’t make sense. He was the son of the Lord of the Dead, King of the Underworld. He was the Prince of the Underworld. He didn’t belong on the surface world, not with such kind people. He didn’t…

“Hey.” Flynn nudged him lightly on the shoulder with his knuckles. “Don’t think about it too much. You don’t get to choose your family.”

Nico furrowed his brow. “Then… I don’t understand.”

“It means you came into our lives naturally, and now you’re stuck with us, no matter what happens.”

Nico had a thousand comebacks about why that wouldn’t matter in a year. But Flynn looked so happy, he just bit them back.

Happy. To have Nico as part of his family. These people made no sense. But for some reason, they’d adopted Nico into their clan, told him he belonged. It was all Nico had ever wanted. And, even more bizarre, they actually believed it.

His stress seemed to leave him, and he found himself swaying on his feet, his body growing heavy.

“Let’s get you to bed.” Eugene put an arm around his shoulder and led him back inside, and Nico smiled at his touch. It was a new sensation. It was paternal.

He realised people, people like Will, grew up with this feeling.

No wonder he was so warm.


	56. This is another chapter

Hazel was released from the hospital a week before school started, with instructions to eat and drink constantly through the deal, and to come back for a checkup before the school year started.

Naturally Rapunzel and Eugene insisted she stay with them, which was good because Nico would have stayed with her.

He was left aghast at how much colour her skin had. It’d had a grey tint to it before, but now it was a rich brown. And her hair, once thin and stringy, was much thicker, with a slight curl. He buzzed with excitement at finding out what she would look like once she was at full health.

She was stunned by their home; large, with peaking towers, rounded walls, and coloured mosaic floors. Her mouth hung wide open, her head tilted back so far Nico held an arm out behind her to catch her should she topple backwards. Did he look like this when he first arrived?

She was rendered immobile upon entering the foyer, looking at the painted walls, her bag dropping to the floor. “I had no idea so many colours existed.”

“Do you like art?”

She looked to Rapunzel, realising that she’d dropped her shy persona and pulling her shoulders forward with a blush. “I do.”

Will stepped beside her. “You know, my mum painted all of these.”

Hazel looked to Rapunzel with wide, sparkling eyes. “You did these? But how did you make such colours?”

Rapunzel laughed. “I mixed them with shells. I can teach you if you’d like.”

Hazel looked down, shifting from foot to foot. “I don’t want to impose.”

“You wouldn’t be. I’d love to have someone to talk to about it.”

Hazel cast Nico a sideways glance, and he nodded. She took a deep breath and looked up, avoiding Rapunzel's eyes, looking instead to her mouth. “I would love that.”

She tried to keep her body small, insignificant, like she’d done her whole life. But she was grinning, her teeth white, adding to the sparkle of her expression.

Nico watched them wander off to Rapunzel’s workshop, feeling a sense of pride. She would do well in this world.

Eugene picked up her bag. “Well, let’s get her room ready, boys. We’ve got a lot of work to do.”

They painted her walls white, and covered her floor with a canvas tarp. In her closet was a ladder to help her reach the top easier.

They kept it simple, so she could decorate it herself. The only things they added for decoration were a vanity and a full length mirror. She also had a bed and a dresser. Everything was paint safe.

They barely managed to finish before she showed up, covered in different coloured paints, and beaming. She began chattering excitedly to Nico, telling him about what she’d learnt, pointing to each colour on her skin as she named it. She didn’t even realise Will and Eugene were watching them.

She adored her room, already planning what she wanted to paint where.

When she caught sight of herself in the mirror, she stopped abruptly, staring.

“Is that me?”

Nico came up behind her. “Yeah.”

“Is that what I look like?” She pointed to her reflection, her hand shaking.

“You’re usually less colourful.”

She touched her cheek, then her clavicle, her arm, her stomach. It reminded Nico of seeing his own reflection for the first time in the water.

“Nico?” Her voice was a squeaky whisper.

“Yeah?”

“Am I… Am I pretty?”

He put his chin on her shoulder, looking contemplatively at her reflection for a moment before smiling. “You’re beautiful.”

“Really?”

“More than most.”

She smiled slowly, staring at her face. “Thank you.”

He kissed her cheek. “Anytime. Now, you should sleep. Tomorrow you get to enjoy learning to shop.”

Her smile fell away. “Why do you make that sound so ominous?”

He just smiled at her and wished her good night before slipping out.


	57. Story

Nico agreed to go shopping with them, surprising everyone except Hazel. She just wrapped her arm around his and held far too tight. This would be her first time around a large group of people ever, which still made Nico nervous. But it would be good practice for school.

He recognised the signs of her panic attacks immediately and led her casually away from the crowd, and into an alley.

“Hey, it’s okay.” He put his hands on her arms and rubbed them, looking her in the eyes. “Breathe in. Now out. Now in. Out. Good. Keep doing that.” He paused to make sure she was following directions. “Good.” He put his hand on her head and ran it over her curls, the feeling familiar. He’d done this so often after her nightmares he fell right back into the rhythm like they’d never separated. “Do you want me to tell you a story?”

She nodded, biting the inside of her cheek.

The two of them sat on the ground, Nico’s arm around Hazel’s shoulders as she curled around her knees, rocking back and forth lightly.

Nico looked up at the sky. “Once upon a time there was a girl with no memory, who showed up in a field one day. A boy came across her as she slept, not the first, and fell in love with her beauty. What he didn’t know of was her free spirit and the way she could paralyze a man with a glare.

“She felt his eyes on her and woke up, looking at him, and he knew he would love her until his last breath. She, however, felt nothing of the sort. She ran from him.

“He thought to make chase, but didn’t want to scare her anymore than he already had. So instead he left, vowing to return every day until he won her heart.

“And he did. Day after day, for two years, he returned to that field, and every day the girl ran away. She didn’t like being pursued, especially by a man who knew nothing about her.

“Finally she stood one morning where he’d first found her sleeping, and asked him why he returned every day.

“ ‘Because I love you,’ he said.

“ ‘You do not know me,’ she responded.

“ ‘Then will you let me?’

“She was so taken aback by his wish that she couldn’t speak. She’d met many men and women in the time she’d been in the field, but none had ever wished to know of more than her beauty. When she’d run from them, they’d always given up, their affection as fleeting as the morning sun.

“She realised she didn’t know what to tell him, having no idea who she was. She’d been in that field so long she had become part of it. And she began to weep. And, from each tear, sprung a flower of thousands of colours that no one had ever seen before. It was as beautiful as she was, and she was mystified by them.

“The boy knelt beside her and smiled. ‘This flower is stunning,’ he said. ‘What is it called?’

“She responded that she didn’t know.

“ ‘Then what is your name?” He wondered.

“She responded again that she didn’t know.

“ ‘Then I shall call it a Hazel.’ And he plucked one and put it in her hair. ‘I think it suits you,’ he said.

“She smiled and thanked him with a kiss. And, when she did, a golden light surrounded her, and wings sprang free from her back and her memories came flooding back to her.

“She explained to him that she was a fairy of strength and goodness, and she’d been cursed by a witch who envied her to be helpless until she could receive a kiss from someone who accepted her for all she was.

“She wondered how this boy, who never spoke to her before that day, could do such a thing.

“He told her, as he brushed her hair behind her ear and gazed into her eyes, that he could see it all in the way that she stood, and the way that she held her skirt when she ran, and the way that she looked at him with her shoulders pulled back and frowning. And he could hear it in every syllable of her voice, and the curve of her lips when she spoke.

“She smiled and kissed him again, and asked if he would be back the next day.

“The boy returned every day, for the rest of his life.”

Hazel rested her head on Nico’s shoulder, her breathing even. Her tears had stopped. “That was nice.” She sighed. “I wish real life could be that simple.”

“Me, too.”

“Nico, does that boy have a name?”

He smiled. “Not yet.”

“I hope you give him one.”

He hummed. “Me, too.” He stretched his arms above his head. “Are you ready to go back?”

Hazel closed her eyes and took a shaking breath. She looked back to Nico and gave him a half-hearted smile. “Yeah. Let’s get this over with.”

He took her hand and helped her up, then led her back to the other’s, who were waiting in a bakery with cupcakes for both of them.


	58. Why Did You Come Back?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for my absence. I've been on a cross country trip that was suppose to be two weeks, and is turning into closer to three. I've had maybe two hours to write this entire time. Once I get to where I'm moving, I'm gonna spend a week doing almost nothing but writing, because my life is hell without it. But I will be back to posting regularly as soon as I possibly can.

Hazel wasted no time getting started on her room. She spent the entire next day working on it, refusing to let anyone aside from Rapunzel in, and pausing only to eat or drink.

For the first time since he’d returned from the Underworld, Nico didn’t know what to do. He’d been so busy with Hazel that he wasn’t sure how to handle free time anymore.

Will seemed to want his attention, though, so the two of them decided to take a walk into town to see a movie. It was Nico’s first, as well as his first time having popcorn, which he decided was a little overrated after Will spent so much energy hyping it up, not that he had the heart to tell him.

Afterward they went out for lunch, where they talked about little things for an hour.

When their conversation slowed, and Nico’s hands rested on the table in front of him, Will reached over and took one.

There was a nervous hesitance to the action. It was the first time they’d shown any affection in public.

Nico looked around, but no one was paying them any attention, probably because Will was Will, and his people loved him, but it still made Nico’s heart beat with an uncomfortable force.

But his broad grin conflicted with the feeling. He looked down to hide it.

Will ran his thumb over Nico’s knuckles, making his stomach throw a fit.

“Hey, Will?” His voice was high, and he flinched.

Will hummed, staring at him with those soft eyes he often had when the two of them were alone together.

Nico glanced up at him, and back away again. “What made you decide you wanted to, um, be with me?” His neck burned at the question.

Will swallowed, looking down, his bedroom eyes gone, and Nico regretted asking. “Being without you, after being together for so long, was worse than anything I’ve ever experienced, and it was all because of my own cowardice. I spent the whole time thinking about how much I hurt you, and it killed me. I kept thinking about how I would apologise when I saw you.

“Then I ran into Frank, and he told me that you quit school.”

Nico flinched. He felt a little betrayed, even though Frank was only trying to help him.

“And I thought about how I’d never see you again, and I just lost it. I went to Silena the same day.”

Nico raised his brows. “That’s it? For some reason I expected something more dramatic.”

Will grinned at him. “That’s because you read too much. You’re mixing fantasy and reality.”

Nico held up their intertwined hands. “Who’s fault is that?” He blushed at his own comment, looking away from him.

Will got up and moved beside Nico, lacing their fingers together. “This isn’t fantasy. It’s real.” He used his other hand to trace swirls and lines over Nico’s arm, leaving tingling trails on his skin that stayed longer than they should. “You. Me. Us.” His finger stopped. “It’s real. It only feels like a story because they’re wishes.” He looked Nico in the eye, a stupid grin on his face. “That’s what you are. My story.”

He kissed Nico, making him smile the same giddy smile.

Nico buried his face in the crook of Will’s neck. “That was the cheesiest thing I’ve ever heard.”

“What can I say?” Will played with his hair. “You make me feel cheesy.”

Nico laughed. “You’re so lame.”

“A little, yeah.” He took a deep breath. “We should head back. Dinner will be soon. We can go on another date tomorrow.”

Nico resisted the urge to pout. “All right.”

When they stood, Will wrapped his arm around Nico’s shoulder as they walked, thinking that maybe things would be okay. Maybe it would be like this every day.


	59. Nightmares

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still on the move, but I managed to get some time to sit down and write today! I have this and the next chapter mostly written.

That night Nico woke to the sounds of faint crying.

He ran imediately to Hazel's room. Shutting the door quietly, he sat on her bed, gently waking her.

She sat up, gasping, and looked around, not recognising where she was.

"Hazel, hey." He took her face in his hands. "It's Nico. It's me. Look at me."

She stared at him breathing deeply. Her eyes were wide, her puples small. Slowly they began to dialate to a normal size.

She threw herself at him, holding him tightly. She shook as she wailed loudly into his shirt gripping to him as tight as she could.

Nico ran his hand over her hair. "It's okay, Hazel. I'm right here. You're safe. You're okay. We're on the surface now. You're free from that place. You never have to go back."

She cried into him for a long while. Hours, probably. He couldn't tell. This was so familiar to him, he felt like he was back in the Underworld. He cringed at the cold comfort that gave him, and chased it away.

He'd hardly realised the dawn breaking when she sat up. She took several long, shaking breaths.

"Thanks."

Nico brushed the hair from her face and kissed her forehead. "Of course."

She wiped harshly at her cheeks with the heels of her palms. "None of this feels real, you know?"

He let out a humourless chuckle. "I know."

"Do you still feel that way?"

He leant back on his hands. "Most days, yeah."

Hazel looked at him, her lips parted. "But it has to go away eventually, right?"

He wanted to tell her that it did. Of course it did. But he thought about what Rapunzel had told him, and he couldn't lie to her.

He held his arm out, and she moved into it, leaning into his side.

"I don't think it ever fully does. The Underworld, our fathers, that place..." He shuddered. "It's part of who we are, whether we like it or not. But I do think it gets better. I think we stop thinking about it every day. The other things around us start to fill in the gaps and push the bad stuff out. I think we'll get better."

She took a deep breath. "Thanks, Nico."

He kissed the top of her head. "Of course."

As soon as it was light enough to see, he looked around the room, feeling breathless. "Hazel, it's beautiful."

She'd captured the sunset on her west wall immaculately. But she wasn't done yet. Paints lay scattered on the floor, and there were blank spots, and other places where the colours weren't properly blended.

He wondered what the rest of the room would look like.

Hazel blushed, though it wasn't very noticable, since her face was still flushed from crying so much. "Thank you." She got to her feet and walked over to it. "I wanted to wait until it was done to show you.

He followed her, putting his chin on her shoulder. "Well, I'm sure the finished product will be phenomenal if the work in progress is this good."

She grinned. "I hope so."

"It will be."

She stared at it for a while as the sun rose, changing the way the colours shown before their eyes. "I think I'm going to work on it some more, since I'm awake."

"All right. I'll be right next door if you need me."

He gave her a hug and returned to his room to get a bit more sleep.

Hazel was humming before he even closed the door.


	60. Second Semester

Nico wasn’t sure if he or Hazel were more nervous about the first day of school.

Hazel was understandably frightened. She had all the fears he’d had the previous year, and the persisting fear that someone would find out who she was, and she would be sent back. When he’d started last year, everyone already knew who he was, for better or for worse.

This year he had to face everyone as a gay boy in a world that openly resented him.

He took a deep breath as Hazel clung to him, shaking. He had to be strong for her.

They got out of the car and Rapunzel gave them all really long hugs.

“I have presents for each of you.”

Hazel stood on her toes to whisper in Nico’s ear. “What’s a present?”

“It’s something someone gives you on special occasions because they like you.”

She mouthed, “wow”, watching Rapunzel reach into the trunk.

“Hazel first.” She gave her a sketch book the size of her torso and a paint set with twelves different brushes and over a hundred colours.

Hazel stared at them, her mouth open.

“Oh dear, don’t cry.” Rapunzel pulled her into another hug. “It’s your first day. You have to face them head on with a brave face. All right?”

Hazel took a breath and nodded, holding her present close to her.

Nico cupped his hand around his mouth. “You say thank you.”

“Oh. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Rapunzel kissed her cheek, then stood back up straight. “Now Will.”

He looked at Nico curiously. They’d both expected him to be next. But Rapunzel wouldn’t have forgotten about him or left him out. She was far too caring for that.

He shrugged and smiled at Will, ignoring the way his chest felt like it was growing heavier.

She handed him a large book. It was new, but designed to look old with perforated pages and fake water damage.

Nico leant in closer to see it.

“Medieval Medical Treatments and Procedures?”

Will looked ecstatic in that shining way he did. His excitement was never over the top. It was smiles and wide eyes and a spark of confidence.

“Thank you.” He leant down and kissed his mum’s cheek. “Hey, Nico. Let’s look at some of this stuff later. You’ll love it.”

He raised a brow at him. “You’re sure about that?”

“Positive.”

His confidence made Nico deflate. “Okay. Yeah, sure.”

He felt a bit of comfort at the way Will’s arm pressed into his shoulder.

“Now Nico.”

He let out his breath as Will squeezed his hand.

Eugene drove up on a motorcycle then, stunning all of them. They’d been under the impression that he was busy today and couldn’t come.

After a moment Nico began to laugh. It was quite the sight.

Eugene came over with a basket, handing it to Nico.

He took it, surprised by it’s weight.

He nearly dropped it when he opened it to find a cat curled up inside.

It looked up at Nico with golden eyes that reminded him of Hazel’s. Slowly it put it’s front paws on the basket, lifting itself up to inspect Nico closer, it’s nose twitching.

He stood as still as he could, holding his breath.

It closed it’s eyes and nudged his chin with it’s head.

“She likes you.”

He looked to Rapunzel, his heart pounding fast. “Does she?”

She nodded. “She would run away if she didn’t.”

He looked down at the cat and reached out to touch her.

She sniffed his fingers, then nuzzled his hand.

Rapunzel smiled at them. “Every hero needs an animal friend.”

“Hero?”

His choked voice startled the cat, making her flinch.

“Yes, hero. You’re a hero. You made yourself one when you decided to face this thing head on.” She cupped his face. “She’ll be an invaluable bond for you.”

He looked down at her, his eyes watering.

She watched him.

He swallowed, wiping his tears away. “What’s her name?”

“She doesn’t have one.”

“No name?”

“No. We found her on the street. She was near starved, with no home.”

He couldn’t help but smile, though it was a dreadful situation. She was just like him.

“How about Bianca?”

Her ears twitched at that.

“You like that?” He scratched the top of her head and she began to purr. “Good. Then it’s settled.”

“Make sure to get her a collar. And put your name on it.” Eugene leant against the hood of the car. “Or someone might take her for their pet.”

He ran his hand down her back. “Yes, of course.” He looked up at them, taking a deep breath. “Thank you, so much.”

Rapunzel kissed his cheek, hugging him from the side. "We love you. You can do this. You have so many wonderful friends at your side.”

He nodded, nearly choking on his tears. Don’t cry. Face them head on. “Thank you.”

She let him go. “Now get going. We’ll see you at your next break.”

There was more hugging, then the boys walked Hazel to the lecture hall before going to the dorms, holding each other's hands tightly, both shaking, filled with a deep sense that everything was ending.

Nothing would ever be easy for either of them again.

Would they be able to make it through this without the strain ripping them apart?

Will gripped Nico’s hand until it burned.

Yeah. He was sure it would.


	61. Roomates

Frank was already in their room when Nico got there, his few things unpacked. He gave Nico a smile when he walked in.

“Hey.”

Nico nodded awkwardly in response. He put his bag on his bed, setting the basket that held Bianca down beside it.

“You know, I’m glad you came back.” Frank didn’t look up from the wood carving he was making at his desk. “A lot of us thought you’d leave again.”

Nico watched Bianca inspect his bed. “I didn’t.”

“That’s good.”

The room felt like a humid summer day in the silence that followed. It was the awkwardness of newness, not fear or dislike, which kept Nico from running. But it was difficult.

Frank looked up. “Is that a cat?”

Nico tensed. “Yes. Fairy Godmother said she was allowed.”

“She is.” He walked over to her, holding his hand out for her to expect. “She’s beautiful.”

She didn’t allow Frank to pet her the way she did Nico, which, admittedly, made him feel happy. But she did show acceptance by sitting down in front of him.

“Be careful or you’ll lose her in all your black stuff.”

She looked to Nico, tilting her head to the side.

He watched her for a moment. “No. She’ll be fine. She’s smart.”

She hopped off the bed, further examining the room.

The boys just stood there, watching her for a while.

“So.” Frank cleared his throat. “Is Hazel here?”

He was blushing, which almost made Nico laugh.

“Yes. She’s in orientation right now.” He shifted his weight, clearing his throat to get rid of the laughter trapped in it. “Did you want to come when we pick her up?”

“Oh.” Frank looked down, the back of his neck red. “I shouldn’t. We’re not close. She won’t want me there.”

“Sure she would.” He sat on his bed. “She likes you well enough.”

“Really?”

Nico could imagine him with dog ears, perked up in excitement.

“Yeah.”

“Oh. Um. All right, then. Sure.”

“Cool.” He opened his bag, pulling out his clothes to put away.

Frank watched Bianca look around his desk, stifling a grin.

Frank was a good guy. Kind, helpful, friendly. It wouldn’t be so bad if Hazel liked him back.

Nico sighed, his shoulders slumping. Being with Frank would be easy. That was good. It was how a relationship should be. And Hazel deserved to have something be easy.


	62. Step One

Nico met Hazel with her good buddy as they came out of the auditorium. She looked ecstatic when she saw him with Will and Frank, and ran up to them.

“Nico, this is Lou Ellen. She’s an artist. She makes these things called sculptures.”

“Yeah?” He looked to her, giving her a smile. He didn’t know if Lou Ellen was a good person or not, but Hazel liked her, and he would respect that.

“Hey, Lou.” Will gave her a wave.

Nico almost rolled his eyes. Of course Will knew her.

"She’s the daughter of Elowny.” Hazel looked to Nico to see if he would explain who that was, but he just shrugged. He’d never heard of her.

He realised after a moment that Lou Ellen was looking at his and Will’s entwined hands, and tried to pull away. But Will held tight. He looked at him.

Will smiled, but he looked worried, his brows knit and his face just a little pale. But he didn’t let go.

“Hey, Lou.”

Her head snapped up and she blushed. “Oh. Hey, Will.” She looked away from them, obviously seeking out something else to look at, which was much worse.

Frank cleared his throat, and everyone looked at him, hoping he could break the tension. “So, Hazel, how do you like the school so far?”

Right, Hazel. She was why they were all there.

She smiled, feeling a bit nervous under everyone’s gaze, no longer able to pretend it was just Nico. “Yes. It’s so big and green.”

Frank smiled. “Wait until you see the garden.”

She stood up a little straighter. “There’s a garden?”

“Do you want me to show you?” Lou Ellen leaned forward a little to catch Hazel’s attention.

“Can you?”

“Of course.” She looked to Frank, avoiding Will and Nico’s eyes. “Do you guys want to come?”

“Yeah, that sounds fun.” Frank moved past them to stand beside Hazel, blushing slightly.

Hazel looked to Nico, but he held his hand up. “I think we’re gonna find Jason and the others.”

“All right.” She took his hand and squeezed it, and it almost made him break.

As soon as they were gone, Will let go of his hand and they both flexed them. Nico hadn’t realised they’d been clinging to each other so tightly.

“Are you okay?” Will touched his arm, and he moved into it.

“Yeah. It wasn’t as bad as he’d expected it to be.”

Will wrapped his arms around Nico, engulfing him, making him feel safe. “I think most people will react this way.”

“Like gaping animals.”

He didn’t laugh, but Nico could see his smile in his head, the one he wore when he knew he shouldn’t find Nico’s jokes funny, with slightly upturned eyebrows and twitching lips. “Surprised. Confused. But it’ll be okay.”

Nico took a deep breath. A part of him wanted to think that it wouldn’t, that people couldn’t change. But it was hard to be pessimistic, wrapped up in Will’s arms, the sound and feel of his heartbeat against his face. He closed his eyes and thought about Will’s chest rising and falling with every breath.

“Yeah.” He put his hands on Will’s arms, holding them there.

After a very long moment Will sighed. “We really should go find the others, or they’ll get worried.”

Nico could hear the hesitation in his voice, and smiled. “Yeah. You’re right.”

He had to pull away first, knowing that they would stand there all night if he waited for Will. Still, he took an extra moment to just be with him.

“Come on.” He took Will’s hands again, and pulled him lightly in the direction of the courtyard.

Will followed, staying close, their arms touching, and Nico just smiled, slowing his pace so they could have just one extra moment alone together.


	63. Sophomore Year

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today marks the one year anniversary of when I posted the first chapter of this on my tumblr blog.

Will waved at Nico in the cafeteria the next morning, and Nico made a beeline for him.

“What classes are you taking this semester?” Will leant over his shoulder to look at his schedule.

“I have ‘being a better ruler’ with Pacha, geometry with Cogsworth, gym with Li Shang, ‘what makes a hero’ with Elsa, and biology with Grimsby.”

“What’s this?” Will touched a red box, separate from the rest of his schedule.

“Oh.” Nico blushed, tucking his chin into his chest. “That’s ‘recording history’ with Merlin.”

“I’ve never heard of that class.”

“It’s at the university.”

Will sat up. “At Aurdon U?”

“Yeah. I applied in May and got in.”

“Nico, that’s amazing. Why didn’t you tell me?”

He shrugged, keeping his arms close. He couldn’t help but grin. “I didn’t want to brag.”

“You got into a college class as a sophomore. You deserve to brag.” He took the paper from Nico to look at it. “You have to tell mum and dad tonight. I don’t know how long I can keep quiet.”

“Now you sound like you’re bragging.”

“I can’t help it. My boyfriend’s a prodigy. I want everyone to know.”

Nico ducked his head to hide his blush.

“Did he just say ‘boyfriend’?”

Nico looked up, his smile gone, looking around for the person who’d said that.

Some people closest to them were staring, others whispered behind their hands. The crowd grew.

A few people looked away when they realised Nico had noticed them, but most gawked. There were so many types of expressions. Some had the same surprised face that Lou Ellen had the day before, but others held varying amounts of disgust. He even locked eyes with one boy who looked angry.

Why? What about their relationship could anger someone?

Jason sat down across from him, Piper close behind. “Hey, guys.”

A few people got up and rushed out.

Jason caught his eye, raising his brows.

Nico shook his head, giving Will a smile. He hadn’t noticed, and Nico wondered if he should tell him. But he looked so happy that he decided to leave it alone for now. He was still hopeful that everyone would understand, and that good meant good. Nico wanted to let him keep that starry-eyed optimism as long as possible.

“Jason, look. Nico’s in a college class.” He slid the paper across the table.

“No way. Nico, that’s awesome.”

He jumped when Hazel’s head touched his shoulder and she groaned. “Mornings are early and I dislike them.”

Everyone laughed.

“Hazel.” Will leant over Nico with the schedule. “Hazel, look.”

"Will you stop showing that to people?” He took the paper from him.

“Aw.” Will stared at his empty hand.

Piper looked around. “Where’s Lou Ellen? Isn’t she supposed to show you to your classes?”

Nico could see by the way her face paled that she’d immediately realised her mistake, but it was too late to take it back. His stomach twisted.

“Oh.” Hazel blushed. “She slept in, but Frank said he would show me to my first class.”

Nico stared at her, and she pointedly avoided his gaze, focusing on her food.

Jason nudged his foot and gave him an encouraging smile that he returned as best he could.

“Hey, Nico.” Will leant into him. “I get to walk you to class.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yep. It’s a rule. In the rulebook.”

Nico raised a brow. He’d read the rulebook multiple times, and Will knew that. “Is it now?”

“Yep. The relationship rulebook.”

“Where can I read this rulebook?”

“You can borrow mine.”

He rolled his eyes. “Yeah, okay.”

He saw a few more people leave. Most kept their backs blatantly toward their table, but a few continued to gawk as their friends pulled at their arms and clothes, turning them away.

Jason noticed. Piper noticed. Hazel noticed. Will didn’t notice. Good.

Frank gave them a wave as he approached, passing by two girls who were keeping their heads down. “Hey, Hazel, guys.” When he came up beside her, he reached out to touch her shoulder, but pulled back awkwardly. "We should get to your class.”

“Right. Yeah.” She got up, taking her barely touched tray with her.

“Wait.” Nico followed suit, grabbing an apple and some milk from his own tray and putting them in her bag. “For when you get hungry.” He kissed her cheek. “Have fun.”

“Thank you.” She gave him a smile that shook at the corners and followed Frank out with a bounce to her step.

“She’s cute.” Piper chuckled a little, watching her turn the corner. “I hope she likes it here.”

“She will.” As long as Nico’s drama didn’t affect her life, though it already seemed to be doing so.

“We should go, too. Can’t be late on the first day.” Jason took a breath and gave Nico another look, asking if he and Will would be okay on their own.

Nico barely managed to smile back.

Jason and Piper left, Jason putting a hand on Nico’s shoulder as they passed.

“Well, you ready?”

Will took his hand, and a cold shock went through his gut for the first time since the Underworld.

He realised he was afraid to hold Will’s hand. He was afraid of other people’s reactions and their looks.

No. He wouldn’t let them take this from him. Will’s feelings were a comfort, a safety. So he squeezed back. “Yeah. Let’s go, or you’ll be late.”

He let Will lead this time, let his positivity and his goodness be a shield against a world that found its safety in its structure and its rules.


	64. College

By the end of school the next day, everyone knew about the two of them. And, if Nico thought people were staring at him a lot last year, this was almost eerie.

Everywhere he went, with or without Will, people would watch him with that weird mixture of gaping and shielding their eyes that was becoming almost normal. Whenever he entered a classroom a hush would descend.

He couldn’t describe how it made him feel, no matter how long he stared at his notebooks. Something between a tornado and nothing, which left so much room, but it was so specific, like that time early in the morning when he woke up and had to work, or he couldn’t fall back asleep (which had made him learn that Frank was a really light sleeper, unlike Will). But not exactly.

Maybe his Recording History class would help him find the words.

Mal and Annabeth met him and Will at the gates to Auridon U, and their smiles gave him a weird sense of relief he didn’t know he needed. It wasn’t reassuring or comforting or helpful. It wasn’t anything. Just a smile. Nico and Will weren’t an anomaly to them. They were just another couple. In that moment, they didn’t need to find some way to prove their love.

Mal ruffled his hair. “What’s up squirt? Heard you’re a genius or something.”

He fixed his hair. “No, I’m just lucky they had a free spot.”

“He’s being modest.” Will squeezed his hand. “He’s brilliant.”

Nico rolled his eyes. “He’s been telling everyone that. Including my teachers.”

“He’s right, though.” Annabeth held out her hand for Nico’s schedule. “Merlin’s super selective about who he teaches. He wouldn’t accept you into his class unless he saw potential in you.”

He blushed, looking down, but he didn’t miss Will sticking his tongue out at him.

“Told you so.”

“Yeah, okay, all right. But let’s hold back the praise until I actually go to class. I don’t know if I’ll be able to handle it yet.”

“You will’ Mal snatched the schedule from Annabeth’s hands, briefly glancing at it before giving it back to Nico, holding it over his head when he reached for it. “I recognise that look in your eye.”

“Oh yeah?” He tried to grab it again, but she held it up high, using her extra two inches to her advantage. He huffed. “From where?”

“From the mirror.” She smiled and gave him back the paper. “Now come on. Merlin likes students who show up early.

The two of them led him and Will to the classroom, which was in a small house-like building on the far end of campus, in what looked like a living room.

It was magnificent. There were couches and chairs and writing desks littered everywhere. He couldn’t even find a pattern to it.

As students wandered in, they grabbed things and moved them to fit their preferred arrangement.

He was equally surprised by the stacks and piles of books everywhere; on the floor, on and under tables, on window sills, even turned into a book castle in a doorway, which everyone just avoided without a thought.

If heaven existed, this is what it looked like.

Will chuckled. “This is what your room is going to look like, isn’t it?”

“Probably.”

Will squeezed his hand as the room filled up. “I’ll wait for you, okay? I’ll find Evie and hang with her until you’re done.”

“Will, it’s a three hour class. It doesn’t get out until seven.”

His hand tightened on Nico’s. “That gives me time to finish my homework.”

He couldn’t deny feeling a little relieved that Will didn’t change his mind. “All right.”

A girl moved past them, and Will pulled him around the corner, kissing him.

It was hesitant, unlike how Will usually kissed him. Nico realised he’d somehow forgotten how much this affected him as well. More than Nico, even.

He was being selfish. Will’s entire world was turned upside down, and yet he’d been so focused on his own fear and pain. Just because Will hadn’t noticed everything that was happening didn’t mean it wasn’t happening to him as well. This wasn’t what a relationship was about. He flushed with his shame.

“I love you.” Will cupped Nico’s face lightly in his hands. “Text me when you’re done.”

He nodded, looking into Will’s eyes for that last moment before he left, and Nico made his way into the now filled classroom.


	65. Clubroom

Merlin, who looked exactly like Nico imagined he would, came in at exactly four o’clock, shutting the door behind him.

Nico and three other students sat up straight, but the rest seemed relaxed, finishing up their conversations or working on some sort of project or homework. It was odd and seemed very disrespectful to him, but it appeared to be normal here. Was this what college was like?

“Good morning, class, good morning.” Merlin didn’t look at them as he moved about the room, grabbing stuff. “I hope you all had a nice summer and are ready to get to work. Now.” He turned to them. “Who in here do I not know?”

Nico looked around and saw the other awkward students slowly raising their hands, and followed suit.

“Good, good. So four of you then. My, that’s more than usual. All right, well, let me introduce you to this class. Here we learn to use language to understand the depths of people’s lives and relationships, and determine what we as a culture can learn from them.”

Nico found himself leaning forward, his ankles crossed, hands claspt together between his thighs. He blushed and glanced around, seeing mixed reactions from the other newbies.

“Being a storyteller is the most difficult and important job in our world. To be one you have to be willing to delve into the darkest depths of the human psyche. You have to be willing to understand the good parts of a villain, and the bad parts of a hero. You have to record things as they are, and not as you wish them to be.”

One of the newbies looked ready to run. He had paled, and Nico thought his hands were shaking, but he kept them on his lap.

“We no longer live in a time where people will accept simple explanations of good and evil. It is a storyteller’s job to decipher that grey area so that other people can understand.”

Nico hadn’t even been aware that this was a job. Did they let villains kids be storyteller’s?

“Now, for those of you who no longer wish to be here.” He flicked his wrist and the door opened.

The boy got up and left, but Merlin didn’t move, and Nico looked around to see what was happening.

Finally another newby stood up and walked out, her head held high.

Nico hadn’t even realised she had a problem, but Merlin had just from looking at her.

Once she was gone, he closed the door with a smile. “Storytelling is not for everyone.” He cleared his throat. “Now, to the two of you remaining, welcome to the family. I hope you’re prepared for a very difficult semester.”

A few people touched Nico’s arms and shoulders, welcoming him. The other girl received the same. He felt light headed.

“Hey, you.” A girl sat beside him, leaning into him. He guessed she was a villains kid based on her dark appearance. “You’re Nico, right?”

“Um, yeah.”

“I thought so. You’re friends with my little brother.”

“Your brother?” He looked her over, trying to figure out who she was talking about. But she didn’t look like anyone he knew.

“Yeah, Jason.”

He almost asked, “Jason who,” before his brain caught up with him. His mouth fell open. “Wait, Jason’s your brother?”

She grinned at him. “Hard to believe, right? He’s such a sweet little boy, and I look like I was raised on the isle. But I’m a one-hundred-percent bonafide goodie, swear on Anderson himself. She made a cross over hear heart.

He’d never seen someone like her before. Wannabe goodie’s were common, but never the other way around. “Um, hello.”

“Hey. Come with me.” She got up and left the room.

He looked to Merlin, but he was deep in conversation with another student, and wasn’t paying attention to them at all. He took a breath and ran after her.

“Aren’t we supposed to be in a class?”

She started up the stairs. “It’s fine. We have to spend a lot of time working with each other, so the first day’s all about bonding. So we’re doing exactly what we’re supposed to do.”

His excitement was mixed with the fear that she was leading him into a trap. But he kept following her.

She pushed open the door to the attic and walked into it, and Nico had to steel himself before following.

There was an entire dream room in there that looked like the one downstairs, but with an added TV and cool posters on the walls. There were three other students in there, one of them napping on a bean bag chair.

“This is the lounge. Free to use for literature students.”

It took Nico a moment to close his mouth. “This is amazing.” He went to the bay window and looked out over the woods, seeing a few houses in the distance.

“You can come here whenever you want to get away.”

“Me?” He turned to her. “But I’m not a student here. I’m still in high school.”

“So? You’re in one of Merlin’s classes. That means you’re welcome here anytime.” She joined him by the window. “We all remember how awful high school is. Especially for anyone different. And most people in this building are different. So we understand.”

He bit the inside of his cheek. “I don’t know.”

“Give it a shot. It’s a great place to write.” She put a finger to Nico’s forehead and pushed him so the back of his legs hit the seat and he stumbled. “See? Nice, huh?”

He pursed his lips. It was uncomfortable and hard, but he didn’t want to get back up. The atmosphere of the room was relaxing, and, for the first time since he'd first kissed Will, he didn’t feel like someone was watching him.

He looked around again, taking in all the little details. Several bags were scattered about the floor, there were open notebooks on almost every surface, and the colours were soft, but rich. He could hear the faint music coming from someone’s headphones. It mixed with the sound of typing. The light was dim, but not too dark. It mixed nicely with the natural light flowing in.

“Yeah. Okay. I’ll give this place a shot.”

“Awesome. Now, let’s get back before we get in trouble.”

“You said this was okay.”

“Did I?”

He ran after her, smiling at the floor. He thought about showing Will this place, his chest felt warm. He almost started laughing that the image of his face that popped into his head, with his goofy smile and squinted eyes. Maybe they could even sit at the bay window together.

Would college students accept them more than high school students?


	66. Reality

Will had waited for Nico, sure as he’d promised, standing right outside the house. It gave him a bit of a thrill, being able to walk back to the school with him, with his boyfriend.

Nico still didn’t know if they could come out to his classmates yet. Today had been mostly small talk, and Nico hadn’t heard anything that could steer him one way or the other. But the other high schooler had shot him a few looks that he couldn’t decipher.

He didn’t know what to do. If he said something to them and they responded negatively, he would be stuck with them and their tight-knit “family” for the remainder of the semester.

It really put a wrench in his urge to just kiss Will. Not that he would likely do so even if he could. But not having the option just made him want to more.

They held hands as soon as they were off campus, which seemed to take forever. Nico passed the time by babbling on about the class while Will listened silently. He told him of Merlin’s speech, the student’s who’d left, and Thalia. He left out only the attic club room, to yet ready to share that information, which made him feel horrid, but he justified it by telling himself that there was no point if he never went there.

As soon as Will’s hand brushed his, though, he fell silent. It had only been a few hours since they’d been together, but it had somehow felt like days.

“I’m glad you’re enjoying the class.”

There was something in Will’s voice that sounded familiar, but Nico couldn’t place. It made his throat tighten up and his palm sweat.

“We haven’t really done anything, yet. We just sort of got to know each other.”

There was a pause, Nico moving on autopilot. It was uncomfortable, so different than the silences where they would just enjoy being with the other person. Nico wanted to break it, with anything. But, as it always did, his mind went blank when it really mattered. 

So they walked like that the rest of the way to the dorms, both somewhere between lost in thought and overly aware of every single person that passed them.

He walked Nico directly to his and Frank’s door, and the two of them stood there for a moment, waiting.

“Frank has some dinner for you. We talked and he said he would grab you something on days you’re at the college.”

“What about you?”’

”Cecil grabbed me something.”

“Oh. Good.”

Will’s free hand had moved to his waist, and he’d shifted so he was standing in front of him.

The hallway was deserted, and they could barely hear laughter from one of the rooms. It was just them, and Will was moving closer.

Nico looked up at him holding his breath, his hand on Will’s arm.

As he closed his eyes, a door opened, and Nico felt Will jump.

His eyes snapped open with the ice cold realisation that, just because Will wasn’t responding to other people’s reactions toward them, didn’t mean he hadn’t noticed. And Nico had just assumed he was ignorant to it.

Will smiled at him. “You should head inside. Get some sleep. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He gave Nico’s hand a squeeze and headed down the hall to his own room.

Nico stood there for a while, not ready to be in a small room, surrounded by bare white walls. He needed to be better than this, get his act together. Will needed him, and Nico hadn’t been there for him.

Starting tomorrow, he would work harder to be the boyfriend Will needed him to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have two things to say about the future of my writing on this website.  
> First is that I'm in a toxic living situation, with no job, and no money. And this is making my writing suffer in very visible ways. So, from now on, I'm going to only write when I can get to a cafe, which is how I've been writing for years. This will lead to more infrequent updates.  
> The second is much more important and could lead to me possibly dropping my fanfictions altogether. It can be found on my official blog here: https://infpinions.wordpress.com/2016/11/19/on-my-fanfiction/


	67. Octavian

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have been so excited to write this chapter! I've had it in my head since May. I hope everyone likes it.

Deciding to be a better boyfriend was easy. Actually doing so was a lot harder. Nico had been up until almost two thinking about it, which did nothing except make him exhausted the next day.

At least Will thought he was being cute. He led Nico to the cafeteria with an arm around his waist, ad he wouldn’t stop laughing. It was annoying, but also a large part of the reason Nico fell in love with him; the way he saw the good in the little things, and just let them take him. So Nico didn’t try very hard to stop him.

He leant his head on Will’s shoulder, relaxed in the faux safety of their friends surrounding them. Even as he was aware of the people staring at him, this small group that had formed a semicircle around them had blocked the judgement from every direction.

When Hazel leant on him, he started laughing at the exhausted line they’d created. And she soon joined him, probably with no idea what was so funny, but he was just so tired.

The bell rang before they had time to really eat. Hazel packed away some food, and Frank walked her to class, with a soft smile and a brush of pink cheeks.

Will helped Nico to walk, his hand never leaving his waist, and, though Nico was more awake now, he didn’t protest.

They were stopped by a boy almost as pale as Nico at the entrance to the anthropology hallway. Will seemed to recognise him by the way he tensed up.

“William. Good. I was looking for you.”

Nico decided he disliked this boy. His voice made Nico feel slimy, and the people standing behind him looked like henchmen. But the way Will’s arm tightened around him was the nail on the coffin.

“What do you want?”

Nico resisted the urge to look up at Will. He’d never heard him talk to anyone like that.

The boy turned his attention to Nico, making him jump. “You must be Nico, then. I’m Octavian, son of Frollo. Pleasure to meet you.” He held his hand out to shake, and Nico noticed the small vial held lightly between two fingers in the other.

He didn’t accept it, moving into Will instead, and Octavian smiled like it was exactly what he’d wanted.

“Of course. William, I have something for you.”

He held the vial out to Will, shaking it delicately.

Will accepted it slowly. He and Nico examined it, leaning in close. It was a nasty green, the kind that screamed evil potion.

“What is it?”

“An antidote.”

They looked at Octavian. He was grinning, sinister, lips curled, like Nico had seen thousands of times as a child.

“For the love spell you’re under.”

Nico’s entire body felt weak. He paled, his hands shaking. He looked around at the crowd they’d gathered, pointing and laughing behind their hands. Slowly he moved away from Will, his head spinning.

Will pulled him to his chest, his face red like Nico didn’t think was possible. He’d seen him hurt, frustrated, and annoyed, but never so angry.

He popped open the vial, downed it, and shoved it into Octavian’s chest, letting it drop to the floor and shatter.

The room was silent as everyone aside from Will stared at the broken glass.

“I’m not under any spell. Nico has never manipulated a person in his life. He’s kinder and more honest than anyone in this school.”

No one responded. No one could even look ashamed. They all looked to Will, one by one, with wide eyed shock. He took Nico’s hand and pulled him down the hall, yanking on his arm, pulling him out of the moment.

“Will- Will, that hurts.”

Will came to a sudden stop, tripping Nico, who fell to his knees. He turned around and helped Nico back up, taking him in his arms, burying his face in Nico’s hair. “I’m sorry.”

“What?” He could hear Will’s heart pounding. “What for?”

“For that." He spit the word, making Nico wince. “For not being able to protect you from it. I should be able to protect you from it.”

“Will.” Nico pulled back to look up at him. “It’s not your job to protect me.”

“Yes it is!” His face was twisted and splotchy, his teeth bared. “I’'m a prince, that’s what princes do. We protect. What good is a prince who can’t protect the person he loves?”

Nico wiggled his arms free of Will’s death grip and took his face gently in his hands. “This is not a problem that has ever been dealt with this way. We don’t have some guide to follow.” He pulled Will down to kiss him, standing on his toes to meet him halfway. “We’re both in this. And we need to work together to get through it.”

Will took a deep, shuddering breath and looked down.

“Will, please? I need you to be here with me. Not wherever princes stand so they can save damsels. Here, beside me, where we can both support each other.”

Nico could see how much it tore at Will, and how much he was asking of him. But Will couldn’t take all of this onto his shoulders alone. It would crush him.

“Nico, I can’t…”

“I’m not asking for you to just give up on everything you know. I know how hard that is, and I would never want that.” He slowly ran his fingers through Will’s hair. “But I didn’t fall in love with you because you’re some heroic-hero-prince. I fell in love with you because you’re kind, and patient, and caring, and not just toward me. There’s so much more to you than muscles and a sword.”

Will hung his head limply, eyes closed. “You should keep complimenting me.”

Nico chuckled. “Maybe later. Can’t tell you everything now, can I? We have the rest of our lives for this.” He just hoped that was more than nine months.

Will took his hand, holding it to his chest. “We’ll get through this. And we’ll make everyone accept us, too. I promise.”

“You know, when you say things like that, in that voice, with that kind of face, I can’t help but believe you.”

“So you’re saying I should do it more often?”

It sent a chill down Nico’s spine. “No. Unfair advantage.”

“Oh come on. I need some way to counter that face of yours.”

Nico could feel how tense Will still was when he kissed him again. But it was okay. One step at a time.


	68. Out

Nothing was quite the same between Nico and Will after that. Their game of pretend was over. They’d had the reality of what everyone thought of them shoved violently in their face.

Somehow though, even with the rawness of it, things were easier, better. It had broken down a wall between them. Will was still struggling with good world’s expectations, but he wasn’t alone.

Octavian’s joke had had the opposite effect. Will and Nico were even more affectionate around school. They held hands everywhere, and Will hung all over Nico. It was exactly how they’d acted before dating, but people looked at them differently now.

Nico decided that, if he liked his next recording history class, he would show Will the attic room.

He stopped Will outside the house that Thursday before he left to find Evie, and kissed him goodbye, in front of the people that were filing in and out of the house, outing them in front of half his class.

He heard several gasps, like they’d done something explicit, even though it was only a small peck, nothing compared to much of the affection he’d seen other students display.

“I’ll call you after class.”

Will pulled him back to his chest, breathing heavily, holding him tight.

Nico could only close his eyes and feel him; the way he trembled, the way his chest moved, the way his breath felt blowing through Nico’s hair.

“I love you. Please be safe.”

Nico watched him walk away, their audience moving out of his way, holding their bag straps tightly.

Someone put their arm around Nico’s shoulder, making him jump, his heart skipping in a heavy way. He recognised it as Thalia, which did little to calm him down. “Well that was something.”

He scowled. “Don’t pretend you didn’t know.”

“But I didn’t.”

“So you’re telling me that Jason just left out the part about me being gay when he told you all about me?”

“Wow. You really have some trust issues, you know that?” She steered him into the house. “Come on, let’s get you sitting down before all hell breaks loose.”

He looked up at her eyes wide. It was the first time he’d heard anyone swear since he’d last been on the Isle, and from a goodie, too.

She just winked at him.

College was interesting, or maybe it was just Thalia.


	69. What's Wrong

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm taking this story of hiatus temporarily while I post this arc, but I will probably put it back on once I finish.

Nico was enthralled by his first real recording history class. Merlin started by discussing the people who wrote Ben’s parents story, and why she chose to focus on the aspects that she did, and comparing it to that of Aurora and Phillip; the focus on how they grew up, their relationships with their family and the people around them, and with each other.

Nico had never thought about the role personality played in what they learnt. What sort of things would he keep, or leave out? Would he try to fit in everything? People deserved to know all the details before making a decision, right?

Apparently that was for the next class.

So Nico was left with feeling incomplete, sitting where he was, staring at nothing, while half the class surrounded Merlin with rapidfire questions.

Thalia jostled him by slapping his arm. “Your boyfriend’s outside.”

He looked around in a panic to see if anyone had heard. Then he realised that he’d publically come out to them in the most intimate way only a few hours ago. Oddly it filled him with a calm nausea.

“Dude, chill. No one’s going to assault you.”

The idea hadn’t occurred to him, but now he felt sick in an entirely new way.

“Okay, calm down before you explode.” She slipped her arm through his, pulling him to his feet. “Now let’s go get your boyfriend before the wolves eat him.”

Nico didn’t understand until they were outside and they saw Will swarmed by six students, looking overwhelmed and panicked.

He saw Nico, and relief flooded his face. It was a weird thing for that to happen when someone saw him, as opposed to the person who would get them away from him.

Nico went over to him, parting the crowd. With a shaking hand, he took Will’s receiving a death grip in return.

The crowd was mostly silent with Nico there, so he managed to pull Will into the house with relative ease.

“Where are we going?”

Nico didn’t respond as he pulled Will up the narrow steps, feeling apprehension at sharing this with him, his mouth watering awkwardly. But it was something he needed to do.

His heart was pounding as he stood in front of the door, tempted to turn around. But he couldn’t. He couldn’t keep secrets from Will, his boyfriend, his true love. So he held his breath and pushed it open.

Will stepped in after Nico, looking around. “What’s this?”

“It’s called the lounge. It’s a writing student club house.” Nico wrung his hands, not quite sure if he was anxious about Will liking the place, or knowing about it, or excited to finally share it with him.

Will furrowed his brows, his lips parted, and it made Nico’s heart skip in a way he wished he didn’t recognise. He braced himself to be yelled at for his selfish secret. He should have just told Will about it right away.

“But I’m not a writing student.”

Nico was shaking. He took a deep breath, trying to hide it. “It’s fine. As long as you’re with me.”

Will nodded, biting his lips together, still looking around. “This place is nice.” He looked at a guy who was blocking the world out with expensive looking headphone on a beanbag. “It’s nice in here.”

Nico stuffed his hands in his pockets. “Yeah?”

Will only nodded.

There was a silence between them. Nico took steady, even breaths, but still he was growing light headed. “It’s open twenty-four-seven, as long as we don’t try to live here. But we would need to leave by nine to make it back before curfew.”

Will looked to him for just a moment before looking out the window. Then it was another few seconds before he spoke. “That’s cool.”

Nico looked to Thalia for some sort of answer, or reassurance that Will wasn’t upset. But she just shrugged with a weird, non-committal expression, her lips pursed to the side.

“I thought it could be a good place to hang out and do our homework while we wait for my class to start.”

“Yeah, okay.”

It was so automatic and lifeless it made Nico feel sick. He’d moved his hands out of his pockets and was picking at a thread on his shirt that hadn’t been loose a moment ago. “We should head back. I have a lot of homework, and I think I’m already starting to fall behind.”

It was a lie; for the first time, Nico was actually ahead. What he wanted was to lock himself in his room with Bianca and his notebooks.

“Yeah.”

Will took his hand when they got to the bottom of the stairs. And that was it for Nico. There wasn’t any warmth in Will’s hand. It felt disgustingly obligatory, and he wanted to pull away, to not be next to this Will he didn’t know.

It was like he was an empty shell, and Nico could only search frantically for why.

But he held Will’s hand the whole way back to his dorm, squeezing it tighter to fight off the feeling.

There was no good night kiss by his door, which left Nico with a sick feeling of relief as he locked himself inside, gripping the doorknob until his fingers burned.


	70. Oh

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first half of this chapter is objectively bad and I can't figure out how to fix it.

Thalia plopped down on the couch next to Nico, jostling him out of his reflection on the last few weeks with Will. They’d been awkward, and hard. He didn’t want to be around him, but he’d been too afraid of losing him if he stepped away. And being ripped from those thoughts made him feel like he’d fallen from a cliff, his stomach rising to somewhere in his chest.

“Whatever you’ve got going on with Will isn’t healthy, you know.”

Nico tensed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

She stared at him. “Did you two have a fight or something?”

Nico’s face went red. “No.”

She held up her hands. “Calm the fire, Mushu. I was just asking.”

“Well maybe you should mind your own business.”

He regretted it as soon as he’d said it. He wanted to apologise, but he didn’t. And he didn’t know why he didn’t.

Thalia turned away from him, and didn’t talk to him for the rest of the class. They sat in silence, the air between them so tense Nico could hardly concentrate.

She didn’t know what she was talking about.

Except that she did. Nico had already known she was right. But he didn’t want to think about it. He’d been trying so hard not to think about it.

And maybe she knew that, because she didn’t look when he stormed out of the classroom at the end.

Will was waiting for him, which was surprising. He’d worked himself into a tizzy, which somehow made him believe he would be left here alone. He felt like a jerk for thinking that of Will.

Nico wanted to jump into his arms like some tiny princess.

Will’s expression stopped him; his cold eyes seemed to look past him. It was unlike anything he’d seen on that face.

When Will took his hand, he pulled away, stumbling back a step. It was instinct, and Nico mirrored his surprise, his pulse racing in his neck.

The moment stretched as he tried to find the words to explain.

An arm slung over his shoulder, making him jump.

Thalia leant against him. “Sorry Willy-boy. The prince of the dead’s with me. We have homework to do.”

Will looked to Nico for an explanation. Nico only nodded.

“Oh. All right. I guess I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”

Will hesitated before kissing him, and it made Nico’s chest squeeze somewhere between his heart and stomach.

Thalia tightened her grip on his shoulder. “All right, pipsqueak, time to spill. And I want the truth.”

* * *

Mal met them at the twenty-four hour restaurant close to campus. Apparently Evie had noticed Will’s odd behavior and alerted her. So she set a tea latte from the cafe across the street in front of him, and leant forward on her arms. “Talk.”

He sighed, holding the cup but not drinking. “Will and I are having some problems.”

Thalia snorted. “Imagine that.”

“What kind of problems?”

He pressed his palm into his eye. “I don’t know. He’s been acting weird and I don’t know why.”

“Okay.” Thalia drew out the word with expressive lip movements. “So have you talked to him about it?”

Nico’s heart skipped. “No.”

Both of them rolled their eyes, almost in unison.

Mal pushed his plate of pancakes toward him. “I guess I can’t be too surprised. This is your first relationship. And I think it’s Will’s, too.”

Nico nodded. They’d never talked about it, but he knew.

“Yeah, so neither of you would know how to talk about this stuff.”

Nico looked at her. “So this is normal?”

“Perfectly. Ben had to take the lead in everything for the first two years we were together.”

Nico almost started crying right there. He was so sure they were hanging on by a thread.

Thalia took a drink from his cup. “So when did he start acting like a snowman?”

Nico had no idea what a snowman was, but he got the gist. “When I showed him the writing room.”

She furrowed her brows at him. “Why would that upset him?”

“I don’t know.”

Mal shushed him, putting a hand on his arm. “Step back. Something had to be the cause. Did anything weird or different happen with you two before that?”

Nico raised a brow at her. “You mean aside from being the only public good-evil gay couple in all of Auridon?”

“Exactly.”

He sighed. “I dunno. We kissed before class, but he seemed happy about that.”

“Okay. Anything else?”

Nico thought hard for a very long moment, staring past his pancakes. “I don’t know. We were being so affectionate, and everything was great, ever since-”

His entire body seized. He couldn’t breathe. He didn’t register the two women calling him, asking if he was okay. He paled and sweat was forming on his brow.

Since octavian’s antidote.

Mal touched his shoulder, and he sobbed, covering his mouth. He stood up. “I have to go.”

He shadow traveled away.


	71. How it is

Nico banged on Will’s door continuously until it opened.

Cecil leaned against the doorjamb, wearing only his underwear. He rubbed at his eye, half asleep. No surprise, it was almost midnight. “What is it?”

He sobered at Nico’s state. “Oh. Uh, Will?” He turned around, throwing a sock that was on the floor at him. “Your boyfriend’s crying in the hallway. You might want to deal with it.”

It took Will a moment to register Nico’s emotional breakdown. He shifted from annoyed to throwing his headphones at his wall and rushing over to them.

“Is it true?” Nico stared at Will, his chest heaving, his breathing heavy and loud. “Was it- are you-”

“Nico.” Will cupped his face. “Calm down, just breath. Tell me what’s wrong.”

It took three minutes for Nico to calm himself enough to speak. “Did Octavian’s antidote work? Were you under a spell when you fell in love with me?”

Will stared at him, and every second made Nico’s chest hurt.

He pulled away. “Fine. I’m sorry for that. I’ll figure something out to get you out of that deal with my father. Maybe there’s a stipulation that a person can’t make a deal under the influence of a spell.”

He turned around, and saw that every door was open, and the hall was filled with students staring at them. He’d been so desperate for Will to deny it, that he hadn’t even thought about where they were.

He saw Octavian grinning at them, his face pink. He even had a twinkle in his eye.

Nico sprinted the two doors to his room, slamming the door behind him, leaving Frank in the hall in his pajamas.


	72. Talk

Will banged on Nico's door, begging him to open it up and talk to him.

He held Bianca to his chest. She just purred by him, not bothered at all by his violent sobs.

"Please, Nico, just talk to me."

He covered his ears, muttering under his breath for Will to just go away already, his voice growing higher with every word.

"Nico. It's Frank."

He jumped, looking up.

"Hazel's with me. She wants to talk to you."

Bianca sat up at her name, meowing.

"Can she come in?"

Nico went to the door immediately, looking through the peep hole. He opened the door just a crack and Hazel pushed her way inside.

She wrapped her arms around him, letting him sob into her shoulder. With Bianca curling around their feet, meowing at them, he was able to calm down after only a few minutes.

"It was a love potion." His voice was muffled by her night shirt. "He was never in love with me."

"But that doesn't make sense. Who would give him a love potion?"

He shook his head. "It had to have been why he made that deal."

"I really don't think so."

"Then why wouldn't he answer me when I asked him about it?"

Hazel bit her lip. "I don't know, but I do think he's still in love with you. After all, that was a week ago. Why would he still be with you?"

"I don't know. Because he's Will and he's too kind to just up and dump someone like that."

"Nico." Hazel held him at arm's length. She waited for him to look her in the eye, running her hands up and down his arms. "That is the cruel thing to do. Do you honestly think Will would string you along like that?"

He wanted to scream something, anything. He wanted to tell her that she was wrong, that she didn't know what she was talking about, because how could she know? He wanted to do anything that would keep him in this state of misery.

But this was Hazel, and he could never say anything mean to her.

He shook his head, blinking to chase away his tears.

"Nico, I want you to think about this. When could someone have given him a love potion? And didn't you say that he fell in love with you slowly?"

He nodded.

"In my magical law class we learnt how to identify certain spells. And love potions work rapidly. They're obsessive and all consuming. And the antidote’s the same."

"So," Nico took a shuddering breath. "Will couldn't have been under a love spell?"

"I don't think so. You would have had to be the first person he saw, and he would have been dazed after taking the antidote. He couldn't have pretended nothing had happened."

"And-" He swallowed, trying to keep his breathing even. "And the antidote wouldn't have a reverse effect? I wouldn't make him fall out of love with me?"

She shook her head. "Antidotes only cancel out the effect of potions." She scrunched up her nose, looking up. "Something about their chemical compounds. We're learning about them in my intro to chemistry class.

He hugged her, wailing into her again. He felt a relief he wasn't used to, like a sudden stop, a stillness, not the familiar shift of one stressor to another.

Hazel held him as his heart came pouring out.


	73. Chapter 73

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are two things I want to say.  
> First: Now that Descendants two is out, I want to let you know that it will not be altering the story. I won't be changing anything or adding any of the new characters. Aside from maybe, possibly throwing in a few passive moments that won't affect the story at all, this is an original only story.  
> Second: If you're confused about anything at all, it's very important that you tell me, and tell me why you're confused. I'm currently trying to learn how to reveal information without outright explaining it, and I can't do that without knowing what you're thinking. Because I know what's happening, I can't always account for how well I'm informing you.

"Nico, I have to go." Hazel got to her feet. "I'm not supposed to be in the boys dorm this late."

Nico wanted to argue, but he let her go. It was still too early for trouble.

"Do you want to try talking to Will now?"

No, but he decided to give it a shot. He didn't want to drag this out any longer. "Okay."

She leaned out the door. "He's ready to see you now."

The fact that Will had been sitting outside his door made his heart skip, but his entire body shook. He wanted to shadow travel away and avoid this confrontation.

Will shut the door behind him.

Quietly Nico waited. he didn't want to speak, too afraid he would only start crying again.

"I wasn't under a love spell."

"Then why-" His voice broke, and he held his breath.

"I'm sorry. I should have answered you right away. And I kept screaming at myself to, but my stupid mouth wasn't working. I just went over all the stupid things I did to make you think that, and-" He grabbed a fist full of his bangs. "And there was never any stupid potion, just stupid me being stupid." He looked past his fist to Nico. "I'm sorry."

"Then why have you been so cold?"

"I've been stressed." He looked down, hiding behind his hair. "People have been coming up to me and asking me questions, and yelling at me, and trying to convince me to leave you. The only time they leave me alone is when I'm with you, and I'm just so tired." His voice cracked.

Nico's, "what" came out as a squeek. "I didn't know."

Will smiled, but it looked so wrong. "I didn't want to worry you. It was my problem."

Nico rushed over to him, cupping his face in his hands, forcing Will to look him in the eye. "It is my problem. It's my fault this is happening to you."

"No." Will took his hand, lacing their fingers together. "It's not your fault. This was inevitable. If it hadn't been you, it would have been someone else." He kissed the back of Nico's hand. "But I'm glad it's you."

Nico stepped into him, putting his head on Will's chest. "You should have told me. I'm your boyfriend. We're in this together."

Will nodded. "I will from now on. I'm sorry."

Nico looked up at him, and their kiss just happened naturally, Will's hand moving around his waist, Nico's hand on Will's shoulder. They looked like they were dancing; Nico felt like they were. His head felt light, the room spun slowly.

"Wait." He moved back, his eyes still closed. "You started acting weird when I showed you the attic clubroom." He opened his eyes to look at Will. "Why?"

Will looked to the floor. "I was upset, seeing this place that I didn't belong, where you fit so perfectly. It's petty, but it hurt."

Nico tipped Will's chin up until their eyes met. "I showed you the clubroom so you could be there with me. Not so I could rub it in your face."

Will stared at him. "You want me there?"

"Of course. You're part of my life."

Will started to cry, and Nico couldn't help but laugh. It was all so simple, and yet they'd both been too afraid to talk to each other about it. Was this what love was like for everyone? Or were they just a special kind of dumb.

Nico looked to the clock. "Oh boy. It's almost one. You need to get back to your room before we get in trouble."

Will nodded. "And let Frank back into his room."

Nico led him to the door.

Frank stood up as soon as it opened. "Are you two okay?"

Nico nodded and held their hands up.

"Good." And he really did look relieved.

They stepped into the hall, letting Frank inside.

Will turned around to face him, taking Nico's other hand. "I'll see you tomorrow morning for breakfast?"

"Yeah."

Nico smiled at his smile.

Will kissed him. "Good night."

Nico leaned against the Wall, his legs going weak as all the ferocious energy of the last week left him. When Will turned around at his door for one last look, he felt warm.

A chill went through him, jarring with it's suddenness. He looked up to see Octavian smiling at him through a crack in his door, a cruel sparkle in his dull eyes.


	74. Chapter 74

Mal and Thalia came to Auridon Prep to find out what had happened, and had apparently run into Annabeth and Percy, who decided to tag along. And with Will, Hazel, Frank, Jason, and Piper already with them, there were about seven more people than Nico wanted in their group.

Mal crossed her arms, her jaw jut out to the side. "Your hand doesn't look broken."

He shrunk back. "What?"

"So I don't see why you couldn't have texted me to let me know that you were okay last night." She waved her arms out at her sides, looking around at nothing, her mouth hanging open. "You know." She directed her attention back on Nico. "I could understand if I had to wait for you to make up with Willy-bear here." She motioned grandly at him. "But once that was obviously fixed, you could have said something." She crossed her arms again. "Answered one of my calls, opened one of my messages, on the phone or the computer." Her head bounced from side to side as she listed. "But no, I was up until three with no idea where you were or if you were okay."

Nico stared at her, stupefied. Had she been worried about him? The idea struck him as impossible.

So then what was this?

"I'm sorry?"

"Are you? Because you don't sound all that sure."

Nico looked to Annabeth for an answer.

She nodded.

"Yes." He looked back to Mal. "Yes, I'm sorry."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Whatever." She turned around and went to a wall to lean against it roughly, fuming, aggressively refusing to look at him.

Thalia stuffed her hands in her pockets, rolling on the balls of her feet. "So you're okay, then?"

Nico nodded.

"Good." She walked over to him and punched him in the arm. "Then learn some manners."

Nico rubbed his new bruise, moving closer to Will.

"What's this?"

Octavian's voice made Nico's stomach squirm. Will's hand tightened on his.

Everyone turned to the slimeball slowly, their faces all various forms of disgust.

"What do you want, Octavian?" Jason pulled Piper closer to him, glaring the hardest.

"I just wanted to see why a bunch of VK's and VK sympathisers were in such a large group. Isn't it against the rules?"

"It's not against the rules for people to gather." Percy stepped forward, and Annabeth grabbed him by the elbow. He looked about ready to blow.

"I beg to differ."

Annabeth moved in front of Percy, blocking them from each other. "Just go away, Octavian. The only one causing trouble is you."

Octavian heaved an exasperated sigh and rolled his eyes. "How much do I have to pay you to shut up?"

There was a collective gasp and a silence. Annabeth was frozen, her mouth hanging open.

Percy moved first, shoving past her, his eyes wild. He had to be restrained by Thalia.

"Let me go. I'm gonna pound him."

"Percy, no." Thalia's feet dragged behind him as he inched forward. "He's a minor, and you're a villains kid."

Hazel tugged on Frank's shirt. "What's going on?"

Frank leaned down, lowering his voice. "Annabeth's mother is Helga Sinclair, one of the women who went to Atlantis."

Hazel's eyes went to Annabeth. She'd been reading ahead in her history book to keep up with conversations and had read about Atlantis not even a week ago.

Percy tried to shove Thalia off of him. "That kids a future villain if I ever saw one."

She tried to yank him off his feet. "You'll get slapped with assault charges. You are an adult."

"But I'm not."

It took everyone a moment to realise that it was Piper who'd marched forward and socked Octavian right in the face.

He stumbled back and fell on his bum, holding his eye. "You just hit me."

Piper rubbed her fist, glaring down at him. "When words fail, we must take action."

"I'll make sure you're expelled for this." He pushed himself to his feet, glaring at her through his uninjured eye.

"Fine. I'm sure Fairy Godmother would love to hear why I did it."

She held his glare with equal determination until he finally stormed off, ranting about violent villain freaks.

It took another moment for the tension to dissipate enough for them to relax. Everyone turned to either Piper or Annabeth.

Nico hadn't expected her to turn hero all of a sudden. And that she could have knocked Octavian off his feet like that. He whistled, and it started the chatter.

Jason pulled Piper into his side and kissed her cheek. "You are officially the coolest girlfriend ever."

"You knocked him on his butt in one blow." Frank grinned at her. "I've been wanting to do that for two years."

Will elbowed Frank in the side jovially. "Yeah, but you're too big of a softy."

He glanced quickly at Hazel. "And my mum would have my head. You can't go around assaulting people with my level of training."

"But, man, you've got quite the arm for such a short girl." Jason grinned down at her like she was his moon. "Should I be scared?"

Piper blushed, smiling, twirling a braid around her fingers. "Five-four is average. And I'm not dainty."

Nico looked to Annabeth, who was in Percy's embrace, breathing deeply. Thalia's hand was on her back. She looked like she was crying.

Mal came over to him and Will. "You two okay?"

They both nodded.

Nico took a deep breath. It shook on its way out. "I'm sorry."

"For what this time? Or are you still apologising for last night?"

He shook his head and looked down. "Octavian's bothering everyone because he doesn't like me."

Mal scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Don't get cocky. Octavian's a jerk to everyone, you're not special."

For a moment Nico was hurt, but then relief cooled him. That his sexuality and his relationship with Will wasn't of that much importance when it had been consuming his entire life for months made his chest lighter.

"Don't worry about Octavian." Mal crossed her arms, a twisted smile playing on her face. "He's just some Luke wannabe."

"Luke?"

Will's hand tightened in Nico's. Both he and Mal had turned to Annabeth's group.

He leaned down to Nico's ear. "Later."

Nico watched the three of them, the hurt and anger wafting off them like his father's mist. He nodded. They didn't need any more hurt today, and if there was a reason Nico had never even heard this guys name, yet he made Will's heart pound enough for Nico to feel it in his palm, then he would trust their deferral.


	75. Research

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter's so eh. I'm finding it hard to get back into the Solangelo fandom.  
> If you have any questions, or are looking for replies, or wanna talk, or sargkjbhg, you can find me on tumblr at "leighonardo".

Nico liked kissing Will. He’d kissed a couple other boys on the isle, but they’d never made his head fuzzy like Will did. Maybe because he was older, or because kissing the other boys was just a way to pass the time there, or because you never saw two people just kissing on the streets or in the halls in Auridon.

But sometimes, after they were done kissing, Nico suspected that Will had just kissed him as a distraction. And, while Nico did sometimes employ the same methods, it was an extremely underhanded trick for his boyfriend, which made him twice as attractive.

Two weeks had passed and Nico still didn’t know who Luke was.

When he’d asked Merlin, he was told it was a long story, and that Elsa was holding a class next semester called “Turncoats and Morality” he should take. When he asked Elsa, she said he was welcome to visit her over break so they could talk in length.

None of his high school friends knew much more than that he was Snow White’s son who’d turned bad and had died. And that he was close to Thalia, Annabeth, and Percy.

He hadn’t seen Mal since the Octavian incident, so she was useless as an informant.

Every class and every lunch Nico had with Thalia he wanted to ask about it, but he didn’t.

The more Nico tried to find out, the more he was certain it was something everyone should know.


	76. Panic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if the next few chapters aren't written very well. I've been working mostly on my original stuff, and I'm trying not to fret too much about my fics or else I'll never publish them.

Nico, in a flash of heat, chucked his notebook at the wall with a grunt, waking Frank and Bianca.

“Nico?”

“Sorry.” He picked the book up, keeping his back to Frank. “That was lame of me. Go back to sleep.”

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m fine. Go back to sleep.”

Bianca nuzzled into his hand, and a sob bubbled into him. He held his breath, running a hand down her back.

Frank got up and came to stand beside him. “You’re not okay. You’ve been staying up writing until two every night, then throwing it all away in the morning.” He put a hand on Nico’s shoulder. “And now you’re crying. What’s wrong?”

Nico’s tears pushed their way through his clenched teeth. He let them all out, falling onto his bed so hard it sent Bi skittering under his desk. Frank sat beside him, his arm around his shoulders.

When Nico could finally breathe, his head fuzzy, he expected Frank to be frustrated at the disruption to his sleep. But only for a moment. Nico didn’t know of the boy was capable of looking down on others. He only handed Nico a tissue and asked, “better?”

He nodded. “Thank you.”

Hesitantly, as if asking permission, Frank picked up Nico’s notebook and read from it.

“Save a princess. Stop a war. End a war. Stop someone from becoming evil. Bring someone back to life. Cure a disease.” He set it down on is lap. “Is this about Will’s deal?”

Nico nodded minutely. “I can’t figure anything out.” He took a shaking breath. “The semester ends tomorrow and I’ve got nothing. Half a year. In June Will’s going to be stuck in the underworld and I don’t know what to do!”

“First thing you do is breathe.” Frank rubbed circles in Nico’s back. “Passing out won’t help anything.”

Nico clutched his blankets so hard his fingers burned. He took several deep breaths, swallowing more air than he breathed out. Slowly he nodded, his head rheeling.

“Okay. Are you talking to Will about this?”

“Yes.”

“Okay.” Frank took a deep breath. “Maybe it’s time to get the adults involved.”

Nico shook his head harshly. “No. Will doesn’t want his parents to know.”

“I think you should still tell them.”

Nico pushed himself to his feet. “So they can spend the rest of the time left freaking out, or pull him out of school? So they can try to lock him up so my father can’t get him? My father can always get him. He’s a god!” Nico grabbed his phone and jacket. “Go back to sleep. I’m going for a walk.”

He stormed out, letting Frank get up to close the door.

To: Mal

_ Are you awake? _


	77. Some Sense

Mal sat back, staring at Nico though squinted eyes. She drummed her fingers on her desk. “You’re obviously in the wrong.”

“What?”

“You would rather let Will get taken to the underworld than upset him.”

“That’s not true.” Nico paced to the wall farthest from Mal and turned to face her. “You of all people should know that parents can just complicate things.”

Mal’s eyes flashed green, making Nico’s heart beat in his throat. “You get one pass because I know how upset you are. But you will never use my mother against me again.”

Nico backed into the wall. He nodded.

Mal blinked and her eyes were hazel again. “Our parents, or the goodies parents, have been through this stuff before. They might know something we don’t.”

Nico took several deep breaths that did nothing to calm him. “You don’t know Will’s parents. They love him too much. They love everyone. And Rapunzel doesn’t handle stress well.”

Mal blinked at him lazily. “I think you’re full of it.”

Nico took a deep, slow breath.

“No, stop. Listen.” Mal spun her chair toward him, leaning forward on her arms. “You’re not worried about Will’s parents. You’re worried about them being upset with you.”

“I am not!”

“You are. And the sooner you admit that, the sooner you can start fixing this mess.” Mal ran her hand through her hair. “Look, Neeks. That’s a normal emotion. I’m terrified of disappointing Ben’s parents.”

Nico jut his chin out. He didn’t want to listen to her or care about what she said. Yet he looked her in the eyes, his heart pounding. “You are?”

“Of course. They’re my true love’s parents. After Ben, Belle was the first person to believe that I could be more than my mother made me.”

Nico leant against the wall, looking down.

“Part of being good means doing what’s right, even when it hurts you.”

Nico slid to the floor, pulling himself into a ball.

“Nico?”

“I’ll do it.”

Tears rolled down his cheeks with no warning. “I’ll tell them, but I’m going to talk to Will about it first.”

It occured to Nico as the weight on his shoulders lessened, that he’d known this all along, and he just needed someone to explain it to him in a way that he could understand. Not a goodie that knew only right from the beginning, but someone who understood the struggle and the pain of it all.

He sighed. He owed Frank an apology.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing for me is a bit different right now, for various reasons. If you want to know why my last few chapters have been kind of wonky, you can find out on my tumblr, Leighonardo.


	78. We Need to Talk

When Will pulled Nico into a hug after their last final, Nico pushed him away, taking a few steps back.

“Nico?”

He couldn’t look at Will. Already his throat burned. “We need to talk.”

“What’s wrong?” Will reached for his hand, and he stepped back again. “Nico, did I do something?”

"No, you haven’t done anything. It’s me. I-I’m going to do something, and you’re not going to like it. But I have to. And I’m sorry, so sorry. But I have to, Will.” His voice cracked, and he swallowed his tears down.

“You’re scaring me, Nico. What are you going to do?”

Nico took a deep breath and tried to look up at Will, but his eyes closed, and tears started to push their way out. “I’m going-” His voice wouldn’t come out, only breaths. He swallowed again.

“Nico, whatever it is, it can’t be as bad as you’re thinking.” He took Nico’s hands, and Nico gripped back like he was trying to keep Will from running. “You can tell me anything.”

Nico stepped closer to Will, knowing that it was the only way he could be heard. “I’m going to tell your parents about the deal.”

There was a very still moment before Will reacted. “What? No. Nico, you promised.”

Nico pressed his chin to his chest as he really started to cry. “I know, but I have to. We’re halfway to the end of the deal and we don’t even have an idea.”

“That’s because of what happened with the other kids, and Octavian. Next semester will be easier-”

“Someone will always be there to make things harder. We won’t have any real peace to sit and just think.” Nico rested his forehead on Will’s shoulder. “When one person stops, someone new will always start. We can’t wait for the world to be okay with us. We don’t have time.”

Will shook, and Nico slid his arms up Will’s back, pulling Will into him.

“What if they can’t help?” Will’s tears dripped from his chin, onto Nico’s cheak. “What if all we do is scare them?”

“We have to try. Otherwise we’ll just lose our minds on our own and fail. And then we won’t even get to say goodbye.”

Will clung to Nico, his hand in Nico’s hair. “I can’t do it. I can’t tell them.”

“I’ll tell them. You don’t have to do anything.”

Will’s body hiccuped, and it took Nico a moment to realise he was laughing. “If it had been you making the deal, we would have been done by now.”

“Giving bad news to your parents would hardly make someone a god. Now, giving bad news to my father.”

Will laughed again. “You’re brave. You were willing to give up your freedom so Hazel can come to school.”

Nico cupped Will’s face in his hands. “I ran away when I found how how this world looks at people like me. I was willing to give up everything to avoid that, because it scared me.”

“But you’re here now.”

“Only because you’re here with me. Because you came to bring me back.” He pulled Nico’s hand to his lips and kissed it. “I’m strong because I have someone to be strong with. Before you, I always stayed back and refused to get involved. I didn’t even want friends. You’re the one who changed that.”

Will kissed him with quivering lips. “I love you. I know we’re only in high school, but I do.”

Nico sighed, relaxing into him. “I love you, too, Will.” He closed his eyes and fell into the musicless swaying dance that just happened between them.


End file.
